Electric Vehicle Policy in Delhi: Subsidies for EVs & Charging Stations

The air quality in Delhi is one of the worst amongst world capitals. According to a WHO survey in 2014, air pollution levels in Delhi now exceed Beijing. 41% of this pollution in Delhi is contributed by vehicular emissions.

To take on this problem head-on, the Government of NCT of Delhi announced the Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy on August 7, 2020. The aim of this policy: to improve Delhi’s air quality by promoting electric vehicles. The policy is targeting a 25% share of all new vehicles to be battery-operated by 2024.

The policy also aims to create jobs in driving, selling, financing, servicing & charging EVs.

Plan Of Action:

1. Financial incentives: Purchase & scrapping incentives, interest discount on loans.
2. Waiver of road tax & registration fees.
3. Establishment of a network of charging stations & swappable battery stations. Development of a publicly owned database of the same.
4. Constitution of State Electric Vehicle Board, the establishment of a dedicated EV cell and developing a public outreach program focussed on creating awareness about benefits of electric vehicles & key elements of the policy.
5. Setting up skill centres to provide training related to jobs in the EV ecosystem.
6. Setting up of recycling ecosystem for batteries.
7. Creating of a ‘State EV Fund’ to be funded through air ambience fund, levy of additional taxes, cess on inefficient or polluting vehicles.

Policy details across vehicle segments:

Electric 2 wheelers

1. Two-thirds of new vehicle registration in Delhi comprise 2 wheelers (motorcycles & scooters), with the majority being motorcycles between 110-125 cc & scooters between 90-125 cc.
2. The demand generation incentives offered under the policy shall be based on battery capacity (energy content measured in kWh).
3. To avail demand incentives, the electric 2 wheelers shall have to fulfil the following performance & efficiency eligibility criteria: (criteria - threshold value)
1. Min. top speed - 40 km/hr
2. Mini acceleration - 0.65m/s^2
3. Max. electricity energy consumption - Not exceeding 7kW/100km
4. Warranty - At least 3 yrs comprehension warranty including that of battery from manufactures.
4. The above-mentioned criteria are aligned with those existing in FAME India Phase 2 for electric 2 wheelers but shall exclude certain criteria: no limit for minimum vehicle range, no mandatory requirement of local manufacturing, no requirement for vehicles to be fitted with monitoring devices to determine total fuel savings on a real-time basis.
5. 2 wheeler Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) shall have to register their e-vehicle models with Transport Dept.
6. A purchase incentive of Rs.5000 per kWh of battery capacity shall be provided per vehicle to the registered owner, subject to a maximum incentive of Rs.30,000 per vehicle.
7. Registered owner of electric 2 wheelers shall also be eligible for a Scrapping incentive. Up to Rs.5000 of the incentive shall be reimbursed by the Delhi Govt.
8. Electric 2 wheeler taxis shall operate within the guidelines of Transport Dept.
9. Delivery service providers (food delivery, e-commerce logistics, couriers) switching to electric 2-wheelers shall be eligible for financing support from Delhi Finance Corporation.

E-Autos

1. The govt aims to incentivize the purchase & use of new electric autos & the replacement of existing CNG autos with E-autos.
2. An open permit system shall be applicable for E-autos.
3. To support self-employment, the following incentives shall be provided to individuals with E-auto permits: Purchase incentive of Rs.30,000 per vehicle & interest discount of 5% on loans.
4. Registered owner of E autos shall also be eligible for Scrapping incentives up to Rs.7500.

E-Rikshaws & Carts

1. Purchase incentives of Rs.30,000 per vehicle for the purchase of one E-rickshaw or one E-cart per individual.
2. Interest subvention of 5% on loans.

Buses

1. Delhi govt commits to providing appropriate incentives to ensure that pure electric buses constitute at least 50% of all new buses procured for the fleet.

Goods Carriers

1. Light Commercial Vehicles used as goods carriers for low capacity, short-haul deliveries. L5N vehicles (three-wheeled goods carriers) & N1 vehicles (goods carriers having a gross weight not exceeding 3.5 tonnes).
2. Purchase incentive of Rs.30,000 to first 10,000 e-carriers registered in Delhi after issuance of this policy.
3. Interest subvention of 5% on loans.
4. Goods carriers in the above categories are exempted from any time boundation on plying & parking in Delhi.
5. Scrapping incentive up to Rs.7500 reimbursed by govt.

4-Wheelers

1. Purchase Incentive of Rs.10,000 per kWh of battery capacity subject to a maximum of Rs.1,50,000 per vehicle for the first 1000 e-cars to be registered after issuance of the policy. All leased/hired cars used for commuting of state govt officers shall be transitioned to electric within a period of 12 months from the date of issue of the policy.

Provisions Applicable Across All-Vehicle Segments:

1. Road tax & Registration fees are waived for all battery vehicles.
2. Purchase incentives shall be given directly to the registered owners.
3. An interest discount of 5% is applicable only if the loan is availed from Delhi Finance Corporation.
4. All EVs shall be issued a green number plate.
5. All EVs must display a sticker indicating the policy.

Charging Infrastructure:

Private Charging Points

EV users will use home & workplace charging points for their core charging needs. Charging points at these locations need to be engineered for safe charging by communicating with DISCOMS for load management & metering that enables shared use.

All new parking infrastructure to be ‘EV ready’ with 20% of vehicle parking capacity be EV compliant.

All existing residential & non-residential building owners be encouraged to install Private Charging Points within their premises. The govt shall provide a grant of 100% for the purchase of charging equipment up to Rs.6000 per charging point for the first 30,000 charging points.

Public Charging Infrastructure

Providing charging facilities within 3 km travel from anywhere in Delhi is a key objective of the policy. A working group on the accelerated rollout of charging infrastructure in Delhi (Charging Infrastructure Working Group) has already been established by Power Dept.

Energy Operators (EOs) shall be invited to set up charging & battery swapping stations across Delhi.

The govt shall provide capital subsidy for the cost of chargers installation expenses. The subsidy shall only be applicable for chargers being installed within 1 yr of allocation of a location.

100% of net SGST shall be reimbursed to EOs for the purchase of batteries to be used at swapping stations

Favourable Electricity Tariffs

Electricity Tariff shall be notified in the DERC Tariff Schedule.

Tariff concessions shall be extended to all Private Charging Points that are connected to CMS of relevant DISCOM.

EOs shall be encouraged to use renewable sources of power and be given power banking facilities.

Payment Infrastructure & Information Sharing

EOs expected to accept payments through multiple modes like cash, cards, mobile wallets, UPI. An open database shall be developed offering historical & real-time information on public charging infrastructure (kWh, session length, vehicle type, location of charger, number of chargers at site, payment amount)

Recycling Ecosystem

Batteries that have reached their end of life shall have to be either reused or recycled.

The Policy shall encourage the reuse of EV batteries and the setting up of recycling businesses.

Funding

The state govt shall seek to fund a high proportion of the incentives proposed using a ‘feebate’ concept i.e. adopting measures by which inefficient polluting vehicles incur a fee while efficient ones receive a rebate.

Pollution Cess: Cess on sale of diesel is already applicable in Delhi at 25 paise per litre, collection from which accrues to the Air Ambience Fund under Environment Dept. From the date of issuance of this policy, 50% of the amount collected in the Air Ambience Fund shall be transferred to State EV Fund.

Road Tax: Additional road tax shall be levied on diesel & petrol vehicles, especially luxury cars. Additional road tax thus collected will be allocated to State EV Fund.

Congestion Fee: Congestion Fee to be levied on cab aggregator & ride-hailing services originating or terminating within Delhi. This fee shall be waived for e-vehicles. Fee collected to be allocated to State EV Fund. Other Sources: Any gap left after funding from State EV Fund is exhausted, shall be filled through allocations from Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) already being collected in Delhi.

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