Delhi will soon have the world’s second largest fleet of electric buses after China. In its budget for the financial year (FY) for 2018-19, the Delhi government has announced that 1,000 electric buses will soon be introduced in the national capital.

Moreover, the budget has provision for 905 electric vehicles to facilitate last mile connectivity from metro stations. The Delhi government also aims to boost E-rickshaws in the city through the expansion of eligibility criteria for subsidy.

“This is the first green budget of the government for effective containment of pollution in the city,” the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia said while presenting the budget in the assembly.

The government also announced a comprehensive electric vehicle policy for Delhi with an emphasis on the replacement of BS-II and BS-III two wheelers, taxi fleets, and commercial goods carriers with fully electric vehicles.

Delhi's Green Budget

Transport Department

11. Roll-out 1000 fully electric buses in Delhi

12.Induction of 905 electric feeder vehicles to boost last mile connectivity from metro stations

13.Expansion of eligibility criteria for E-Rickshaw subsidy#AamAadmiBudget pic.twitter.com/SVW4BHoS42

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) March 22, 2018

Of late, both state and central governments have been actively promoting widespread adoption of EVs in the country. In November 2017, the central government announced its plans to provide up to ₹1.05 billion (~$16.2 million) in grant funding for the purchase of EVs to be used for mass transportation. The funding has been made available through a pilot project under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) program.

In line with the government of India’s vision of achieving 100 percent e-mobility by 2030, National E-Mobility Program was also launched in the country recently. The program is aimed at providing impetus to the entire e-mobility ecosystem, including the vehicle manufacturers, charging infrastructure companies, fleet operators, and service providers.

Moving along with India’s goal to expand its base of renewable energy, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has also announced in the budget that it will purchase 1 GW of solar and wind power in the coming year.

Taking up the union government’s cause to expand the use of green energy, Delhi’s major distribution company (DISCOM), BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL), had recently launched an initiative called Solar City in the national capital. The initiative is designed to increase solar rooftop installations in the city. In the budget 2018-19, the government has also proposed a Generation Based Incentive (GBI) of ₹2 (~$0.03)/kWh for existing and future net metered connections in the domestic/residential segment under Delhi Solar Policy.

Sisodia also announced an agriculture-cum-solar farm scheme to incentivize the installation of solar panels on agricultural farms. The AAP government has also introduced Building Energy Efficiency Programme (BEEP) for government buildings in the national capital.

As reported previously by Mercom, the Delhi government also released its draft Delhi Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2018 recently. The draft ECBC aims to create minimum requirements for the energy-efficient design and construction of commercial buildings in the national capital.

Image credit: By Bruno Corpet (Quoique) – Own work, (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons