Punjab To Provide INR 300 Cr Incentives To Promote EV Adoption

Punjab’s transport minister Laljit Singh Bhullar reportedly said that the state government will provide around INR 300 Cr worth of incentives over the next three years to promote the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).

As per a PTI report, the state government will provide incentives to electric two-wheelers, electric rickshaws, electric autos, electric cycles, and electric light commercial vehicles (LCVs).

He made the announcement on Wednesday (June 21) while presiding over a meeting of the state-level EV committee, which looks after the implementation of the state’s EV policy. 

Bhullar also directed the officials of the transport department to write a letter to the finance department to create a dedicated EV fund to facilitate their adoption. 

Citing an official statement, the report said Bhullar also took details of all the responsibilities entrusted to various departments that would work on the implementation of the EV policy.

Bhullar instructed the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd and Punjab Energy Development Agency officials to prepare a report within a month for setting up EV charging stations and identify suitable sites for the same.

He also asked the Housing and Urban Department officials to formulate a policy for ensuring that EV charging facilities are set up in upcoming malls and housing societies in the state.

He also called for expediting the process of scrapping government buses older than 15 years and replacing them with ebuses.

Punjab’s EV Policy

In a push to ensure EV adoption in the state, Punjab rolled out Electric Vehicle Policy, 2022 in February this year. Under the policy, the state government aims to incentivise the first 1 Lakh EVs registered in the state. These vehicles will get an incentive of up to INR 10,000.

It aims to provide incentives of up to INR 30,000 to first 10,000 electric autorickshaws and erickshaws and 5,000 ecar buyers. Besides, incentives of up to INR 30,000-INR 50,000 will also be provided to the first 5,000 LCVs. The policy would be valid for three years.

The state government came out with the EV policy at a time when more and more state governments are doing so in a bid to facilitate the use of EVs. Last year, the governments of Chhattisgarh, Haryana, and Maharashtra also announced their respective incentivisation plans for EVs.

However, EV adoption in Punjab remains significantly lower than states such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi.

As per Vahan data, Punjab saw registrations of 14,055 EVs in 2022, while the number stood at 1,62,857 units in Uttar Pradesh. In Haryana, there were registrations of 25,861 EVs last year and the number stood at 62,266 units for Delhi. 

Even in 2023, Punjab’s EV registrations stand at only 9,908 units so far, which is lower than not only its neighbouring states but also the likes of Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Assam, Odisha, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

As per the Centre’s data provided in early March this year, the total EV count in Punjab stood at 25,597 as against 1.3 Cr of total vehicles across fuel types.