Delhi govt offers subsidy of Rs 5,500 for first 10,000 buyers of e-cycles

In a big push to electric vehicles, Delhi government on Thursday announced that it will provide a subsidy of Rs 5,500 each for the first 10,000 buyers of e-cycles in the city.

The first 1,000 buyers of passenger e-cycles will also be given an additional subsidy of Rs 2,000 under the Delhi Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy, transport minister Kailash Gahlot said, claiming that Delhi has become the first state in the country to provide subsidy in e-cycle segment.

The Delhi Cabinet has also okayed subsidy on purchase of heavy duty cargo e-cycles and e-carts for commercial uses, Gahlot said. The subsidy on cargo e-cycles will be Rs 15,000 each for first 5,000 buyers. The subsidy was earlier provided to individual buyers of e-carts but now a company or corporate house buying these vehicles will also be provided a subsidy of Rs 30,000, he said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said e-cycles will help the residents reduce the use of polluting vehicles.

Congrats Delhi! Today we are taking one more important step in the fight against pollution, Kejriwal said in a tweet.

Delhi Govt's hugely successful e-vehicle subsidy policy is being enhanced with a subsidy for electric bicycles today. E-cycles will help Delhiites reduce the use of polluting vehicles, he said.

The residents of Delhi will be eligible for the subsidy scheme that will be linked with Aadhaar, Gahlot said, adding that all the members of a family having an Aadhaar card will be able to get the subsidy.

Meanwhile, the operational guidelines regarding companies and models qualifying for the scheme will be issued by the government in the next two weeks, said Jasmine Shah, vice- chairman of Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission, the policy think tank of the Delhi government.

Shah said that a good quality e-cycle costs around Rs 25,000-Rs 30,000, while a cargo e-cycle is priced around Rs 40,000-Rs 45,000.

Different models of e-carts are available in the market ranging from Rs 90,000 to nearly Rs 3 lakh, he said.

Shah said that the government is bringing e-cycle segment into mainstream that will help the delivery services and last mile connectivity.

Gahlot said that under the Delhi government's EV policy launched in August 2020, a total subsidy amount of Rs 59.44 crore has been paid so far.

The minister said that presently 45,900 e-vehicles are plying on the city roads, of which 36 per cent are two wheelers. The percentage of e-vehicles in total registered vehicles in the national capital has crossed 12 per cent mark, he added.