Paving The Way For Emobility: State And Central Government EV Policies In India

In 1832, Robert Anderson developed world’s first crude electric vehicle(EV). Nearly two centuries later the world is waking up to the advantages of EVs. Today, China leads the market with around 45% (2.3 Mn) of total electric cars on its roads in 2018, followed by Europe with 24% of the global fleet and the United States at 22%.

According to the ICCT (International Council On Clean Transportation) report, nearly 50% of the world’s electric vehicle sales are concentrated in 25 global cities, called the EV capitals of the world.

And, what makes them the EV capitals? “They all have comprehensive policy packages that include mandates in addition to financial incentives for consumers, funding for infrastructure development, and consumer-awareness initiatives,” says the report.

Government EV Policies In India

As India is also slowly moving towards formulating an effective EV policy, here is a rundown of different policies that are in place in India:

India Central Government EV Policy

The central government of India launched the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme for a two-year period at an approved outlay of INR 795 Cr in 2015. The scheme, extended till September 2018, focussed on technology development, demand creation, pilot projects and charging infrastructure.

Under phase II of FAME, the government is planning to extend financial support of INR 8,730 Cr for three years. The government will be largely focussing on the deployment of electric buses on the Indian roads. This move comes from the response received by the centre during the first phase FAME from 2015-2018 when it received around 47 proposals which demanded deployment of 3,144 buses across 44 cities. There is no fixed timeline mandated by any government (state or central) to complete the transition of state transport union (STU) buses to EVs.

5595 electric buses have been sanctioned to 64 cities and the related STUs. 5095 units out of it are for intra-city transport. Currently, there are approximately 1.95 lakh buses under several STUs in India. The fund support includes INR 2,500 Cr for buses, INR 1,000 Cr for four-wheelers, INR 600 Cr for two-wheelers (with maximum speed greater than 25 km) and INR 750 crore for high speed three-wheelers. With this policy, the central government is planning to prioritise the development of public transportation, shared mobility, and smaller electric vehicles such as two-wheelers.

The government-backed Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) has issued tenders for 20K EVs to be deployed across the country for government use. With this the government aims an EV sales penetration of 30% for private cars, 70% for commercial cars, 40% for buses, and 80% for two- and three-wheelers by 2030.

The government, in a recent move, has approved green license plates for electric vehicles in order to encourage people to use them. The purpose behind is their easy identification for proposed benefits such as concessional toll, preferential treatment for parking and free entry in congested zones.

Andhra Pradesh EV Policy

The policy released by the Andhra government mainly focusses on promoting innovation through grants and venture funds to research organisations, incubators and startups working on next-generation battery technology, fuel cell technologies, EV power trains and EV electronics and enable investment in charging/battery-swapping infrastructure and hydrogen generation and fueling station development.

The government plans to attract combined investments of more than INR 30K Cr in the next five years with an employment potential for 60,000 people. It also targets to bring in manufacturing units of high-density energy storage of at least 10GWh capacity in the next five years to cater to both domestic as well as export market. The complete APSRTC bus fleet of over 11K buses will be converted into electric buses (BEVs/FCEVs) by 2029, the government has claimed with the first phase of 100% conversion of the bus fleet in top 4 cities by 2024.

Bihar EV Policy

Still in the draft phase, Bihar Electric Vehicle Policy 2019 is aimed at the creation of manufacturing ecosystem for e-vehicles in the state, fulfilling sustainable development goals in the transport system and making Bihar the most preferred investment destination for EV sector.

• Mission of the state policy: End manual paddling of rickshaws in the state and upgrade them into 100% electric mobility by 2022
• Create fast-charging stations at every 50 km on state highways/national highways in the state
• Attract on-ground investments of INR 2,500 Cr and create direct empowerment opportunities for 10K persons in the state

Karnataka EV Policy 

Karnataka government formulated the policy in September 2017. The policy mainly aims to create an environment that would attract investments of INR 31K Cr and also create employment opportunities for 55K people. It aims to make Karnataka the preferred destination for development of electric mobility and to develop human capital to meet the needs of the industry. Being one of the early policymakers, the state provides incentives like interest-free loans on the net SGST for EV manufacturing enterprises. Karnataka also plans to develop charging infrastructure as a commercially viable business venture that attracts private investment.

Kerala EV Policy

Kerala plans to build world-class training and skill centres for EV professionals with niche skills for the global EV industry. The policy targets a 200K two-wheelers, 50K three-wheelers, 1K goods carriers, 3,000 buses and 100 ferry boats by 2020.

The policy has a strong focus on the production side in both the EV value chain and the infrastructure value chain.

Maharashtra EV Policy

Last year, Maharashtra came up with an effective EV policy to develop Maharashtra as the leader in EV manufacturing and use of EV and promote export of EV, components, battery and charging equipment.

It aims to increase the number of EVs registered in Maharashtra to 5 Lakh and grab an investment of INR 25K Cr in EV manufacturing and component manufacturing, battery manufacturing/assembly enterprises and charging infrastructure equipment manufacturing in the state. The policy also offers incentives for the purchase of e-buses and buyers and end-users of private vehicles.

Madhya Pradesh EV Policy

Madhya Pradesh also joined the EV bandwagon this year with the main objective to promote sustainable electric mobility and bring about a material improvement in Madhya Pradesh air quality by bringing down emissions from the transport sector. To do so, this policy will seek to drive the rapid adoption of electric vehicles in a manner where they contribute to 25% of all new public transport vehicles registrations by 2026.

This policy will also seek to put in place measures to support the creation of jobs in driving, selling, financing, servicing, charging and manufacturing of EVs. It further provides incentives like free parking, free road tax/registration, swappable battery to e-rickshaws, financial aid from the DUTF (Dedicated Urban Transport Fund) for electric buses.

Delhi/NCR EV Policy

Delhi being the state with utmost need for clean mobility thanks to its problems with pollution, the updated policy released in late 2019 aims to bring down emissions from the transport sector. The policy aims at pushing rapid adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) with the goal of their constituting 25% of all new vehicle registrations by 2023. The policy prioritises two-wheelers, three-wheelers, public transport (bus) and taxi fleets. Delhi plans to add 50% e-buses to public transport by 2023.

The state reportedly also plans to encourage long-term investment by dealers and charging facility providers to create enabling conditions for private and public charging infrastructure. Delhi’s policy provides a unique electricity tariff for EV charging and encourages discoms to work with owners of residential and non-residential buildings to ensure adequate power supply infrastructure for the installation of these charging points. Additionally, the policy also promises that the state will have public charging infrastructure at least every 3 Km.

Tamil Nadu EV Policy

Like other states, TN also aims to attract huge investment for the EV industry in the state. The state has set a goal of INR 500 Bn in investment in EV manufacturing and created a comprehensive EV ecosystem in the state and thereby targetting the creation of 1.5 Lakh new jobs. The policy aims to:

• Create robust infrastructure for electric vehicles including adequate power supply and network of charging points with favourable power tariff.
• Promote innovation in EV for automotive and shared mobility by providing the ecosystem and infrastructure to make Tamil Nadu, the EV hub of India.
• Create a pool of skilled workforce for the EV industry through the technical institutions available in the State and create new jobs in the EV industry.
• Make Tamil Nadu the preferred destination for electric vehicles and component manufacturing units including battery and charging infrastructure.

Telangana EV Policy

India’s newest state Telangana aims to attract investments worth $3 Bn and create employment for 50K people by 2022 through EVs in shared mobility, charging infrastructure development and EV manufacturing activities. It also clearly defines incentives on the demand and supply side of the EV ecosystem, draws a clear roadmap for developing charging infrastructure in the state and provides incentives related to various components of ownership cost of Electric Vehicles

There is also an emphasis on skill development for EV design, development & manufacturing and aims to promote manufacturing of battery cells and packs through special status/ incentives. The Telangana government targets 100% electric buses by 2030 for intra-city, intercity and interstate transport with 25% targetted by 2022 and 50% by 2025..

Uttar Pradesh EV Policy

Drafted this year, the policy encourages the use of HEVs and plug-in EVs during the transition phase. It targets 2 lakh (200,000) charging (fast, slow and swapping) stations by 2024 and 1 Mn EVs on the road in all categories and 70% electric vehicles in public transport by 2030.

The state offers incentives such as capital interest subsidy, infrastructure interest subsidy, industrial quality subsidy, exemption from stamp duty and electricity duty, SGST reimbursement etc. for EV manufacturing units – large, medium, small and micro alike. It also has a single window system in place for all approvals for EV and battery manufacturing units.

Uttarakhand EV Policy

The policy aims to promote the adoption of EVs to create a clean Uttarakhand and establish the state as a preferred destination for EV and EV component manufacturing. The policy talks about 100% electrification of public transport (e-buses), shared mobility including e-bike-taxis and goods transport using electric 2W, 3W and 4W and other mini goods-transport vehicles in five priority cities by 2030.

Why We Need An Uniform And Effective EV policy

Policies have great influence on adoption of EVs. The EV capitals of the world offer measures such as fuel economy standards and incentives for zero and low-emissions vehicles and focus on charging infrastructure. An effective EV policy will help in building confidence of private manufacturers and effective programmes can increase demands for EVs.

“India is well placed to start the EV revolution. All that is required is the will to do it and the governments with their various steps have clearly indicated that it is in favour of the EVs,” Prerana Chaturvedi, CEO and spokesperson of Evolet told Inc42.

She added that the reception that various EV products are receiving is also very encouraging and at this rate we will soon witness the right penetration in the market

Renewable purchase obligation (RPO) regulations are in place for discoms to increase green power within their licensee area (both from solar and non-solar).  In the way forward, it could be stricter for better implementation and to ensure RPO compliance, feel experts.

“Battery manufacturing units could increase their RE-mix in their production process, usage of EV battery for secondary applications like grid storage as a stationery battery, and also recycling of critical materials such as cobalt etc. to limit new battery production and minerals exploration process thereby. Tesla is a similar example,” Alekhya Datta, fellow, electricity and fuels division, TERI told us.