The Delhi government is looking to put in place measures to support the creation of jobs in driving, selling, financing, servicing and charging of EVs.
Amidst an aggressive push for a switch to electric mobility, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the government will come out with a policy on electric vehicles shortly.
With pollution levels rising in the national capital, the Delhi government had set a target to promote the use of electric vehicles. The government released a draft policy in November.
Kejriwal while addressing a press conference on air pollution in Delhi said that the government is going to announce an electric vehicle policy shortly that will help in bringing down the level of pollution in Delhi, reported Livemint.
India is at a transition phase
The announcement comes at a time when the shift to electric mobility has been a priority of the Indian government, keeping in mind India’s commitment to reduce carbon footprint by a third from its 2005 levels. India aims to achieve this target by 2030. Besides, the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is expected to reduce India’s oil import bill, and generate new avenues of employment.
According to the draft policy, the Delhi government wants 25 per cent of all new vehicles by 2023 to be electric vehicles. The government is also looking to put in place measures to support the creation of jobs in driving, selling, financing, servicing and charging of EVs.
Meanwhile, the central government has been trying to incentivize the adoption of EVs through several steps in the past few months, similar to those taken by governments in China and Europe. In July, the Goods and Services Tax Council headed by finance minister Nirmala Sithraman reduced tax on EVs and chargers to 5 per cent from 12 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.
