MUMBAI, April 6 (Xinhua) -- India could save 217 billion U.S. dollars by saving 474 million tons of oil equivalent by opting for electric vehicles till 2030, a release issued by Niti Aayog said late Friday, a planning body of the government.

The electric vehicle initiative will also generate CO2 savings of 846 million tons over their life time, the release said based on a joint report of Niti Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) on opportunities for the automobile sector and government under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles II (FAME II) scheme. RMI is an Indian and global nonprofit organization focused on driving the efficient and restorative use of resources.

The projections are based on India realizing electric vehicles sales penetration of 30 percent of private cars, 70 percent of commercial cars, 40 percent of buses and 80 percent of two and three wheelers by 2030, the release said.

The lifetime cumulative oil and carbon savings of all electric vehicles deployed through 2030 could be many-fold larger than the direct savings from FAME II.

In February, Indian government had approved a scheme to spend 1.4 billion U.S. dollars to subsidize electric and hybrid vehicle sales costing 21,177 U.S. dollars.

As per the last available date in 2015, India had a total vehicular population of 210 million of which 73.5 percent two wheelers, 13.6 percent cars, jeeps and taxis, 1 percent buses, 4.4 percent goods vehicle and 7.5 percent other vehicles.

The FAME II scheme, which was notified by the Union Cabinet in February 2019, aims to further accelerate the government of India's commitment to a clean mobility future with electrification of transportation being a primary focus area.