← Latest news 
Ather CEO Tarun Mehta blasts Centre over PLI rules shutting out startups from EV growth
Business
Published on 30 April 2026
He says the policy quietly hands incumbents a 13-16% edge
Ather Energy CEO Tarun Mehta has criticised the Centre’s auto PLI stance for excluding startups, calling it a policy mismatch that could weaken India’s EV ambitions. After a government official suggested PLI is only for “global champions,” Mehta argued eligibility thresholds favour legacy makers, leaving startups at a 13-16% cost disadvantage and deterring investment in innovation areas like batteries and software.
- Mehta says startup exclusions threaten India’s EV ecosystem and growth
- Auto PLI eligibility rules largely favour legacy scale and assets
- He claims startups face a 13-16% cost disadvantage under current design
- Centre cites success metrics while Mehta demands calibrated R&D aligned norms
Read the full story at Inc42
This summarization was done by Beige for a story published on 
Inc42