How the PM E-DRIVE subsidy reaches your electric scooter: the Aadhaar e-voucher, step by step

The short answer: you do not apply for the PM E-DRIVE subsidy and you do not get it back later. The dealer takes it off the price at the time of sale, after an Aadhaar authenticated e-voucher is generated in your name, and the money then flows back from the Ministry of Heavy Industries to the manufacturer, not to you.

For an electric two-wheeler the amount is ₹2,500 per kWh of battery capacity, capped at ₹5,000 per vehicle, for scooters and bikes with an ex-factory price up to ₹1.5 lakh. There is a second cap of 15 per cent of the ex-factory price, whichever works out lower. In the scheme's first year, 2024-25, the rate was double, ₹5,000 per kWh capped at ₹10,000, so a scooter bought today carries half the central support it did then.

What the e-voucher actually involves

At the point of purchase the scheme portal generates an e-KYC Aadhaar face authenticated e-voucher for the customer, and a link to download it is sent to the customer's registered mobile number. You sign the voucher and hand it to the dealer, the dealer signs it too and uploads it to the PM E-DRIVE portal, and the signed copy goes to both of you by SMS. That signed voucher is what lets the manufacturer claim reimbursement from the ministry.

Three things trip buyers up. Your Aadhaar has to be linked to the mobile number you are using, because the ministry's own FAQ says individuals must validate Aadhaar authentication linked to their mobile number to be eligible. Each mobile number can be used only once for incentive purposes. And only one electric vehicle of a specific category per individual qualifies, so you cannot buy two scooters on the same Aadhaar and expect two discounts. Privately owned and corporate owned e-2Ws both qualify, while e-3W support is for commercial use only.

Practical advice: check the invoice. The incentive must appear as a deduction on the document you sign, with the voucher number attached. If a dealer says the subsidy will come to your bank account afterwards, that is not how this scheme works.

How much money is left, and until when

PM E-DRIVE now runs on an outlay of ₹11,900 crore after a gazette notification dated 10 August 2026 added ₹1,000 crore. That top-up went to two-wheelers: the e-2W pot rose to ₹2,767 crore from ₹1,772 crore, and the maximum number of e-2Ws that can be supported is 45,79,120. Claims have to be submitted by 31 December 2027 and no payments will be made after 31 March 2028. Within that, the subsidy still stops the day the segment's funds run out, which is why the e-2W allocation needed topping up in the first place.

The scheme dashboard, as on 29 October 2026, records 10,80,264 e-2Ws for 2026-27, against 5,645 e-rickshaws and e-carts and 270 e-trucks. Two-wheelers are where this scheme lives.

The Karnataka layer on top

Karnataka adds nothing to the purchase price of a scooter, but it has changed what you pay on an electric car. Autocar India reported in April 2026 that the state's amendment brings electric cars priced under ₹10 lakh under a 5 per cent lifetime tax and those between ₹10 lakh and ₹25 lakh under 8 per cent, with cars above ₹25 lakh already taxed at 10 per cent since March 2024. Electric two-wheelers are excluded. So in Bengaluru, a ₹1.2 lakh electric scooter still gets the ₹5,000 central cut and no lifetime tax, while an electric car has lost the free pass it had since 2017.

Sources

• PM E-DRIVE portal, Ministry of Heavy Industries
• PM E-DRIVE FAQs
• PM E-DRIVE dashboard
• Autocar Professional: Govt extends PM E-Drive subsidy for e2Ws till FY28, increases allocation
• EVreporter: Cabinet approves PM E-DRIVE Scheme with an outlay of INR 10,900 crore
• Autocar India: Karnataka plans to reintroduce lifetime tax on EVs