The announcement was made at a launch event for 50 EVs in Hyderabad
The policy will complement the central government initiatives under FAME II
50 Mahindra Electric EVs will be part of Uber's fleet in Hyderabad
In a bid to push emobility, state governments are also forming their own electric vehicle rules and framework, in addition to the central government’s measures. Now, the Telangana state government joined the bandwagon as it finalised its state electric vehicle policy that will be announced after the model code of conduct for the General Elections ends on May 19.
While speaking at the launch of the programme in Hyderabad, Jayesh Ranjan, the state principal secretary of industries, IT and commerce said that the policy will address the problems in the emobility sector from the state perspective and will also compliment the central government initiatives under FAME II to encourage adaptation of electric vehicles, according to a BusinessLine report.
On April 26, 50 electric vehicles were flagged off in Hyderabad by Mahindra Electric, the electric vehicle subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra in partnership with Uber.
While speaking at the event, Ranjan said that the state government is aiming to build an environment to encourage electric vehicles and related infrastructure. According to reports, Hyderabad is already equipped with more than 30 functional charging stations.
Telangana government has been pushing electric vehicle adoption for the past couple of years. In October 2017, the state had shared its draft policy which focussed on helping manufacturers, brought in support for users who want to shift to electric vehicles and to create infrastructure.
Last year, the state had finalised its policy and it was supposed to be launched in June but the government decided to announce the policy after the announcement of FAME II scheme.
Telangana Government’s Push To Develop Greener State
Telangana government has been quite active in encouraging electric vehicles among its masses. In January, the state government announced that no road tax will be collected from electric vehicles owners.
In November 2018, the Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission approved a tariff of INR 6 for electric vehicle charging or battery swapping stations. The commission had notified that the average cost of service (CoS) for the entire state had been fixed at INR 6.04/kWh.
In a bid to develop supporting infrastructure, Hyderabad Metro Rail had also announced its plans to provide EV charging facility at metro stations in partnership with PowerGrid Corporation of India Ltd.
The state government is also working towards replacing nearly 4,000 diesel-run public transport vehicles in Hyderabad with electric vehicles.
