The Government of Delhi in August 2020, introduced the Delhi Electric Vehicles Policy, which the Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal described as a big step toward curbing the pollution levels in the city. 

The Policy paves the way for disruption in the transport sector, EV penetration, and pollution control. 

Now, two years after the notification of the policy, Delhi has emerged as the EV Capital of India with an EV share of 12.5 percent as compared to an all India average, which is currently only 1.6 percent. 

What the policy is about

The policy has been designed to sustain Delhi as a leading state in EV and further accelerate the pace of EV adoption across vehicle segments, especially in the mass category of two-wheelers, shared transport vehicles, and goods carriers.

Under this Delhi government’s policy, attractive subsidies and exemptions are being given on registration fees and road tax for all EVs. 

These subsidies can be availed through a completely online and hassle-free process. These efforts have come as an enabler for the EV industry.

How it will benefit EV adoption

Currently, all over India, there are more than 13,00,000 EVs running on the roads, while non-electric vehicles are still in majority. As of July 14, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Karnataka have emerged as the top 3 EV-using states compared to others.

Delhi currently has 1,56,393 EVs on the roads.  Under the EV Policy 2020, Private Charging Points (PCPs) will be encouraged to be installed in all current residential and non-residential building owners. These charging stations will allow residents of these apartment complexes to share access to electric vehicle charging.

As per the government, the policy has the potential to generate a huge number of jobs including charging station operating personnel. The policy aims to promote about 5 lakh EVs in Delhi, it has immense potential to create a large number of jobs such as EV drivers, auto-mechanics, charging station operating staff, etc.

In Delhi, shared mobility service providers feel that the provisions of Delhi’s EV Policy were critical in giving a big push to EV adoption in shared mobility.

Challenges to tackle

The EV policy has set an ambitious target for a 25 percent share of EVs in all new vehicle registrations by 2024. 

But affordability, reliability and sustainability of EVs still remains a challenge.  This is where the Delhi EV Forum hosted by the Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC), the think tank of the Delhi government, plays a crucial role. It brings all stakeholders of Delhi's EV ecosystem together every six months to collectively address challenges in implementation.

Though there is a conducive environment in Delhi for the growth of the EV industry, its success hinges a lot on factors like the financial viability of public charging stations. 

To a large extent, the success of shared mobility companies is also important in decarbonising the transport sector with zero tailpipe emission cars – that is, EVs that emit zero particulate emissions.