In the recent state budget announcement, the Delhi government proposes introducing a new solar policy in 2022-23, targeting a cumulative rooftop solar capacity of 2.5 GW in the next five years. Once the target is achieved, rooftop solar could contribute to 10% of Delhi’s annual energy demand.

The new solar policy is expected to create 40,000 jobs for sales, construction workers, electricians, technicians, and engineers in the rooftop solar segment.

Electric Vehicles

The government also announced its plan to launch 4,200 e-autos with 33% reservation for women drivers in the coming year. Deputy CM Manish Sisodia said the government will issue 5,000 e-auto every year for the next five years, creating 25,000 new jobs.

In August 2020, the Delhi government had issued its EV policy to boost the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the national capital. In 2019-20, the share of EVs in the state was 1.2%. Sisodia claimed that Delhi had become the first state in India to cross the 10% mark in EV sales as of February 2022. The state’s EV policy is expected to create 20,000 new jobs in five years in EV sales, repair and maintenance, and operation and maintenance of EV charging stations.

Delhi’s EV policy aims to speed up EV adoption, primarily in the category of two-wheelers, public and shared transport vehicles, and goods carriers. It plans to boost the adoption of battery electric vehicles, contributing to 25% of all new vehicle registrations by 2024. The policy proposes financial incentives, tax, fee waivers, charging and swapping infrastructure establishment, job creation, battery cycling ecosystem. The creation of a non-lapsable ‘State EV Fund’ was envisioned, to be funded through the air ambiance fund, levy of additional taxes, cess, and fees on inefficient or polluting vehicles.

The Government of India issued a draft notification directing the Transport Department of the Government of National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi to increase EV adoption to curb the increasing air pollution. The draft notification issued under the Department of Environment and Forests stated that the transport sector is the primary source of air pollution in Delhi, especially PM2.5 emissions. Vehicular emission also accounted for 80% of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxides in Delhi’s air.

The Delhi Budget has stated that the state government’s onus is to provide clean air and water for future generations, an integral part of the Delhi government’s vision of 2047. Over 100,000 green jobs is anticipated to be created with the launch of several green initiatives by the Delhi Government in the next five years.

In the recent state budget announcements, Kerala and Maharashtra took the lead to allocate finances to encourage renewable energy and EV advancements in the state.