With the second edition of the Electric Vehicle Policy still in the making, the transport department of Delhi government is likely to extend the existing one for a couple of months.
Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot said his team was closely reviewing the suggestions received from the general public for the EV Policy 2.0. “We have already conducted the stakeholder consultation and taken their views on the changes that should be made in the revised policy to make it more holistic. We had also invited suggestions from the general public. Some of the practical suggestions will be included in the new policy,” Gahlot said.
To promote the adoption of electric vehicles, the Delhi government launched its first EV Policy on August 7, 2020. Completing three years, the policy has so far achieved 86% of its measures and targets. The policy offered battery capacity linked subsidies of INR 5,000/kWh or up to INR 30,000 for electric two-wheeler purchases. It also offered a purchase incentive of INR 10,000/kWh of battery capacity with a maximum limit of INR 1.5 lakh per e-car for the first 1,000 electric cars registered in the capital.
The government had termed the EV policy as the most progressive in the country.
The policy also made a provision for INR 30,000 on electric autos, e-rickshaws and electric freight vehicles too. Since August 2020, Delhi has registered nearly 1,25000 EVs, including 17% of new vehicle sales in December 2022-highest ever in India. The city has 2,794 public charging points, 1,550 private charging points and 256 battery swapping stations.
The Delhi government had hoped to see the registration of five lakh new electric vehicles in five years since the policy was launched in August 2020. The government had also set a target of registering 25% of the new vehicles sold in the city as electric.
Sources said the government had received a number of suggestions from the stakeholders, including subsidies on the purchase of private cars, two-wheelers and cycles, passenger three-wheelers and cars, and commercial vehicles. Parking incentive, easier finance options and rebate in interest rate for people buying EVs are some of the other suggestions received by the government.
Officials said consumer awareness campaigns, including the Switch Delhi 2.0 campaign, would be conducted to educate and encourage more individuals to embrace electric mobility. The revised EV policy will be put in public domain for a fixed period of time. It will then be placed before the cabinet for approval. After getting the nod of the council of ministers, the EV Policy 2.0 will be notified.
