Srinagar, Sep 17: Jammu and Kashmir’s electric mobility transition remains marked by significant policy and infrastructure gaps, with the Union Territory ranking 27th among 36 states and UTs in the India Electric Mobility Index 2025 despite recording an improvement of seven places over the previous year.
According to the Jammu and Kashmir profile in the index, the UT scored 31 points against a national average of 42, leaving it 11 points below the overall average. Its overall rank was 27, while it stood sixth among 12 hilly and northeastern states.
The figures as per the news agency Kashmir News Trust become more critical when the individual indicators are examined. Jammu and Kashmir received zero points for government initiatives, purchase incentives, transition initiatives and operational support initiatives under the transport-electrification theme. Its score for private EV registration was only 21, although commercial EV registration received a full score of 100.
The charging infrastructure indicators reveal similar shortcomings. While the charger-to-vehicle ratio received 51 points and power availability scored 100, the UT received zero points for capital subsidies for charging, charging-infrastructure development initiatives and building bylaws for EVs. Renewable energy capacity linked to the theme scored only 17.
The report also records a weak research and development environment for electric mobility. Jammu and Kashmir scored 25 for EV startups, 62 for patents but zero for R&D initiatives, indicating that patent activity has not been matched by a corresponding score for institutional research and development support.
Overall, the three major themes also remained below the national averages. Transport electrification scored 33 against a national average of 77, charging infrastructure scored 32 against 97, and EV research and innovation scored 25 against 94.
The disparity is particularly pronounced in charging infrastructure. A score of 32 compared with the national average of 97 suggests that the gap is not merely about the number of electric vehicles on the roads but also about the ecosystem required to support wider adoption.
The index does record some developments in the UT. It says Jammu and Kashmir has been accelerating its electric-mobility transition by doubling its smart electric bus fleet, with an additional 200 e-buses intended to serve urban commuters and tourism and pilgrimage circuits. It also identifies an estimated 5.9 million tonnes of lithium reserves in Jammu and Kashmir as a potential strategic advantage for India’s battery and electric-vehicle manufacturing ecosystem.
However, the report itself recommends that Jammu and Kashmir frame and notify an EV policy to establish a comprehensive approach to e-mobility. It further recommends appropriate incentives and initiatives for EV adoption, charging infrastructure and research and innovation.
The recommendations, when read alongside the indicator scores, point to a policy gap: Jammu and Kashmir has recorded progress in some areas, but the index shows that several of the mechanisms normally used to accelerate electric-vehicle adoption remain absent or have received no score.
The overall score did improve from 20 in 2024 to 31 in 2025, representing an 11-point increase. But with the national average standing at 42, the latest assessment places J&K’s electric-mobility preparedness substantially below the national benchmark. [KNT]
