Delhi Considers Delaying EV Policy Again, New Draft Still in Works

The Delhi government is mulling to extend the EV policy, which will expire on July 15, reported PTI.

The EV policy has been extended multiple times under both the previous AAP regime and the current government led by the BJP.

The EV policy will expire on July 15 and the government is considering extending it since the new policy is still in the works, sources said. The government might extend the existing policy for another three months, they added.

In June, Delhi Transport Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh had said the government plans to roll out the Electric Vehicle Policy 2.0 by next month.

The government is also exploring multiple options before finalising the EV Policy 2.0. It could also hold a stakeholder consultation that the government could put a draft of the EV Policy 2.0 in the public domain and seek public feedback.

Launched in August 2020 as one of the key initiatives of the previous AAP government, the policy aimed to tackle vehicular pollution and push the adoption of electric vehicles to 25% by 2024.

Although its initial three-year term ended in August 2023, the government decided to extend it.

Draft Policy Highlights

According to the draft of the EV Policy 2.0, its primary objective is to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles to reduce pollution.

It proposes to cover mass categories such as two-wheelers, buses, three-wheelers and goods carriers, with the aim of transitioning them to electric vehicles.

The draft policy also outlines a series of incentives to boost EV adoption. Women riders may be offered a subsidy of up to 36,000 on the purchase of an electric two-wheeler.

Similarly, to encourage the use of electric two-wheelers, the government may offer a purchase incentive of ₹10,000 per kilowatt-hour, capped at ₹30,000 per vehicle.

The policy also intends to generate up to 20,000 jobs during its implementation period and support the establishment of battery collection centre along with a city-wide network of charging and swappable battery stations.

The policy, which will be notified after it receives the Cabinet approval, seeks to improve Delhi's air quality by aggressively replacing a large number of fossil fuel-run vehicles.

The Delhi government was initially planning to roll out the Delhi EV Policy 2.0 from April 15, 2025. However, the government extended its EV Policy by three months in April.

Wider Policy Challenges

Policymakers in India have set a goal of 30% penetration of EV in new sales by 2030 (Clean Energy Ministerial 2017.

If EVs garner 30% of vehicle sales by 2030, the central and state governments are set to lose revenue from petrol and diesel taxes by 15% compared to business-as-usual (BAU).

When pushing for EV transition, the government’s plans should also include diversification of revenue sources, according to Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) report.

(With inputs from PTI.)