With the central government being extremely bullish about the adoption of electric vehicles in India, the government of Telangana is working on formulating a policy for adoption of Electric Vehicles (EV).
Speaking at the launch of a smart mobility cluster at T-Hub, Jayesh Ranjan, IT Secretary, Govt of Telangana said that the government has been working on putting together a comprehensive policy for EV adoption in the state.
“I'm glad to share that we are very very close to bringing out the policy document. We have conducted all kinds of stakeholder consultations, met with industry players to understand what will work for whom, and what kind of support and incentives to provide,” he said.
Jayesh added that public transport has to lead the way for people to adopt EVs and this is something that has been seen world over. The state is working on ways to manage that.
The government will look at introducing e-rickshaws and is currently working on changing rules that favour e-autos, especially in terms of letting companies own a fleet of them.
The policy will look at incentivising people to buy electric vehicles. Some of the incentives it is looking at is subsidies, to bring down the cost of an EV to that of a regular car. The policy may also offer some rebate in registration and road tax, and also to offer free parking for those who own EVs. Jayesh says that these are the proposals being made and final decisions are subject to approval from various government bodies.
The government is also talking to manufacturers to set up EV manufacturing units in the state. It is taking suggestions from auto makers such as Mahindra on what kind of incentives can be offered to EV makers.
And not just vehicle manufacturers, the government also intends to attract suppliers and battery makers to ensure the entire EV ecosystem is supported within the state.
“Battery is the most important component in an EV. There is lot of interest among global battery makers to come to India. Over the past few months, we have received many delegations that are scouting for the right location and we are appearing to be strong and compelling destination to many of them,” the IT secretary said.
With the first phase of the metro also set to launch in Hyderabad in a month’s time, the government has taken an in-principle decision to ensure last mile connectivity from the metro station through EVs only, Jayesh said.
These could be auto rickshaws, buses or even electric cars.
For this, the government is speaking with aggregators such as Ola and Uber to partner with the government for the same.
Even in terms of the infrastructure required for electric vehicles—charging stations being the most important—the government is looking at how this can be implemented.
In fact, the IT secretary said that all metro stations will have charging stations.
Central to the state’s adoption of electric vehicles is innovation. This Jayesh says will be achieved through initiatives such as the Smart Mobility and Transportation Cluster that was launched by T-Hub in partnership with the Telangana government to harness, build, design, test and develop cutting edge innovation in Autonomous Vehicle (AV) technology, Vehicle Electrification and shared mobility.
T-Hub will invite startups from across the globe in the transportation space both from the demand and supply side to help come up with innovative solutions and ideas.
“A strong mobility system is emerging in the state, which involves manufacturers, component makers, demand facilitation, incentives for consumers to switch to EVs, which also has a piece on infrastructure which EVs require like charging stations. All this will propel us to become a very attractive destination for manufacturers and innovators,” Jayesh added.
Image: Michael Movchin via Wikimedia