As a send-off to the year 2019, the Delhi government has approved a policy for electric vehicles (EVs) with an intent to make the city “the EV capital of India.”

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.

The policy will be valid for three years from the date of the notification.

Within a year, the Delhi government is targeting 35,000 electric vehicles (2/3/4 wheelers and buses), 1,000 EVs, and 250 public charging or swapping stations in Delhi.

According to the policy, the government is targeting 500,000 new EV registrations in Delhi. These EVs are estimated to cut down approximately ₹60 billion (~$842.08 million) in oil and liquid gas imports and 4.8 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

As per the policy, all new residential and workplace parking will need to be ‘EV ready’ with 20% of all vehicle parking required to be EV ready.

Delhi government will provide a 100% subsidy for the purchase of charging equipment up to ₹6,000 (~$84) 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 (ECC).

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.

For e-cars, a purchase incentive of ₹10,000 (~$140)/kWh of battery capacity for the first 1,000 cars will be provided, subject to a ceiling cap of ₹150,000 (~$2,105)/vehicle.

All leased or hired, cars used for the commute of government officers will be transitioned to electric within a year.

For an average electric two-wheeler with 2 kWh battery, the applicable incentive would be approximately ₹10,000 (~$140.35) as compared to ₹5,500 (~$77.19) that is being offered by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).

For the first time in Delhi, ride-hailing service providers will be allowed to operate electric two-wheeler taxis.

A few months ago, Delhi cut down the rates of charging stations for e-rickshaws and other electric vehicles.

In November of 2018, the Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy was launched to improve Delhi’s air quality by reducing emissions in the transport sector. The policy brought about the rapid adoption of EVs, where they would contribute to 25% of new vehicle registrations by 2023. The policy also aims at job creation in driving, selling, financing, servicing, and charging EVs.

Image credit: By Trougnouf (Benoit Brummer) – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Anjana is a news editor at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, she held roles of senior editor, district correspondent, and sub-editor for The Times of India, Biospectrum and The Sunday Guardian. Before that, she worked at the Deccan Herald and the Asianlite as chief sub-editor and news editor. She has also contributed to The Quint, Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express, Reader’s Digest (UK edition), IndiaSe (Singapore-based magazine) and Asiaville. Anjana holds a Master’s degree in Geography from North Bengal University, and a diploma in mass communication and journalism from Guru Ghasidas University, Bhopal.