New Delhi: Electric Vehicle Policy Extended Through December 31, Here's Why

The Delhi government, under the leadership of Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot has granted approval to extend the Delhi Electric Vehicles (EV) Policy until December 31, 2023.

According to Gahlot, the decision was made during a cabinet meeting led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The extension will last until either December 31, 2023, or until Delhi EV Policy 2.0 is officially notified, depending on whichever occurs earlier. “All incentives and subsidies given under the existing policy will continue.” He went on to say, “Delhi EV policy 2.0 is in final stages and after necessary approvals will be notified soon.”

The Delhi EV Policy, which was initially launched in August 2020, expired on August 7, 2023. This led to a brief period where the registration of all categories of electric vehicles in the Capital was temporarily halted for two days, prompting the government to extend the policy’s provisions until further notice.

The Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy was a flagship initiative of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi, aimed to combat the city’s high levels of air pollution by reducing vehicular emissions. The policy pursued this goal through two significant changes.

Firstly, the state government initiated a significant transition from Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered public buses to electric buses. Out of the total 3,700 buses operated by the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), the Capital now boasts 800 electric buses. Additionally, the government has committed to exclusively procure electric buses to replace the retiring CNG buses in the fleet.

The second significant shift entailed encouraging residents to transition to electric vehicles through the provision of subsidies. The policy has set an ambitious target: by 2025, it aims for 25 percent of all new vehicles registered in Delhi to be electric.

According to a Hindustan Times report, the capital saw the purchase of a total of 129,000 electric vehicles between August 2020 and June 2023. Currently, Delhi boasts an impressive infrastructure with over 4,500 charging points and 250 battery swapping stations. Many of these facilities were established through the public-private partnership model.

Simultaneously, Kailash Gahlot announced on Friday that Electric Vehicles Policy 2.0 represents the final phase of the policy, focusing on the transition of commercial vehicles to reduce pollution in the capital. He also emphasized that, beyond 2030, all vehicles in Delhi are expected to be electric.