The Delhi government has approved a policy for electric vehicles (EVs). The policy mainly focuses on electric two-wheelers, shared transport vehicles such as three-wheelers and buses, and goods carriers or freight vehicles. These vehicles contribute to most of the vehicular pollution in the capital. Within a year, the Delhi government is targeting 35,000 electric vehicles, 1,000 EVs, and 250 public charging or swapping stations in Delhi. The policy will be valid for three years from the date of the notification.
As per the policy, the government is targeting 500,000 new EV registrations in Delhi. The Delhi government will provide a 100 per cent subsidy for the purchase of charging equipment up to Rs 6,000 per charging point for the first 30,000 charging points at homes or workplaces. The subsidy will be routed through distribution companies responsible for the charger installations. A dedicated EV cell will be established within the transport department for the effective day-to-day implementation of the Delhi State EV Policy. Further, funding for various incentives under Delhi EV Policy will be obtained from multiple sources such as pollution, diesel cess, road tax, or environment compensation charge. The state EV board will be constituted as the apex body for the effective implementation of the Delhi EV Policy 2019. According to the new policy, road tax and registration fees will be waived for all the electric vehicles during the implementation of the policy.
The Delhi government had released a draft version of the electric vehicle policy in 2018. Other states to introduce electric vehicle policies in 2018 and 2019 include Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu. Read more about the increased focus on energy storage, EVs and charging infrastructure here: https://renewablewatch.in/2019/10/22/switching-to-batteries/