Maharashtra approves its electric vehicle policy

The Maharashtra government has approved the state’s Electric Vehicle Policy, 2018. The policy covers all the three segments of the electric vehicle (EV) sector – manufacturing, setting up of infrastructure, and consumers. Moreover, the EV category includes e-cars, e-buses, e-scooters, e-rickshaws and other two-wheelers that can run on electricity.The policy aims to create an enabling environment for the manufacturing of 500,000 EVs in the state within the next five years. Under this, EVs will be exempted from road tax and registration charges in Maharashtra. Further, a 15 per cent subsidy will be provided to the owners of the first 100,000 EVs registered in the state. Besides, a maximum subsidy of Rs 1 million per charging station will be provided to the first 250 stations set up in the state. A subsidy of Rs 5,000 for two-wheelers, Rs 12,000 for three-wheelers and up to Rs 0.1 million for four-wheelers will also be provided.