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The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued a draft notification on 21 August 2026 to amend Rule 2(u) of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.
The draft raises the motor power ceiling for registration-exempt low-speed electric vehicles from 250 W (0.25 kW) to 600 W (0.6 kW).
The 25 km/h maximum speed is retained, but the existing 60 kg unladen weight ceiling is removed altogether.
Such vehicles stay outside conventional registration and the Vahan database, but must meet safety requirements under Annex A of AIS-049, verified by an authorised testing agency under AIS-041.
Industry is split: full-service manufacturers such as BGauss see market expansion, while shared-mobility operator Yulu filed formal objections on road-safety grounds, arguing on 12 September 2026 that a weight cap is a physical limit unlike an alterable electronic speed control.
The parent Act governing registration, licensing, permits and road safety in India; the Central Motor Vehicles Rules are framed under it.
Defines the class of low-speed battery-operated vehicles kept outside the definition of a motor vehicle, and so outside registration. This is the rule the draft substitutes.
The standard for electric power-train vehicles; Annex A carries the safety requirements that exempt low-speed electric vehicles must still meet.
Covers testing and certification of compliance by an authorised testing agency.
Frames and amends the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, administers the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and runs the Vahan and Sarathi databases
MoRTH issues the draft notification proposing to substitute Rule 2(u) of the CMVR, 1989.
Yulu makes public its objection, arguing that removing the 60 kg cap raises crash energy because mass multiplies with velocity, and that weight is a physical limit while an electronic speed cap can be altered.
The statutory 30-day objection window closes; BGauss and other full-service manufacturers back the change as market expansion.
Proposed date from which the amended rule would take effect.
GS Paper III > Infrastructure and Economy > Electric mobility and regulation
General Awareness > Current Affairs > Government notifications and rules
A battery-operated vehicle limited to 25 km/h and within a prescribed motor power, exempt from conventional registration under Rule 2(u) of the CMVR, 1989.
The national vehicle-registration database maintained by MoRTH; exempt low-speed EVs do not appear on it.
The weight of a vehicle without load, fuel or occupants - the measure whose 60 kg ceiling the draft removes.