By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, September 20, 2026: Even as Odisha emerged as one of the country’s leading states in the transition to electric mobility, it needs to strengthen its Electric Vehicle ecosystem by setting up dedicated R&D centres, promoting skill development in electric mobility and introducing measures such as reserved parking, low-emission zones and lower electricity tariffs for public charging stations, according to the latest India Electric Mobility Index (IEMI) 2025 report, released by Niti Aayog in partnership with World Resources Institute (WRI) India.

It also called for a single-window approval system to accelerate charging infrastructure development. Nevertheless, the eastern state has secured the fifth position with a score of 55 and has been classified as a frontrunner among large states, the report added.

The report, released recently, highlights Odisha’s strong performance in EV adoption and charging infrastructure, placing it ahead of several major states, including Gujarat, Punjab, West Bengal and Kerala. Maharashtra topped the large states’ category with a score of 78, followed by Karnataka (73), Tamil Nadu (61) and Madhya Pradesh (59).

The report assessed the states and UTs on three parameters — transport electrification progress, charging infrastructure readiness and EV research and innovation.

A key contributor to Odisha’s ranking was its performance in transport electrification, where it scored 58. The state recorded a private EV adoption rate of 9%, higher than that of several bigger states such as Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Commercial EV adoption stood at 6%. The report also noted that Odisha achieved the highest score for governance initiatives.

Odisha was recognised as a frontrunner in charging infrastructure readiness, scoring 57. The state has introduced capital subsidies for charging stations, charging-friendly building regulations and multiple infrastructure development initiatives. The report also identified interest-free advances for government employees to buy electric vehicles as one of Odisha’s unique strengths. Under the state’s EV policy, government employees are eligible for interest-free loans to buy electric two- and four-wheelers, an initiative highlighted as a best practice in the report.

However, the study pointed out that Odisha still lags behind leading states in EV research, innovation and startup development. The state recorded nine EV startups per trillion rupees of GSDP and only 0.2 EV-related patents per trillion rupees of GSDP, considerably lower than innovation leaders such as Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana.

Nationally, Delhi emerged as the best-performing state or Union territory with a score of 84, followed by Maharashtra (78), Karnataka (73), Chandigarh (71) and Goa (65). Odisha comes eighth.