Delhi govt plans EV festival to promote safe usage; drafts proposal: Report

Delhi government's transport department is planning a series of Electric Vehicle (EV) festivals or EV Utsav. 

The festival will be organised to promote the sale and usage of EVs in the national capital, a Hindustan Times report said, citing officials aware of the development.

The report further said that three events have been planned for the year, which will take place once the proposal for the same is approved. The series of EV festivals will also bring stakeholders, which will include buyers, sellers, battery providers, and swapping agencies — for all segments of two, three, and four-wheelers. 

Last month, the Niti Aayog also released a list of 75 best practices in the social sector from across the country which included the Delhi EV policy, the report further added.

Citing an official, the report said, "We have been taking several measures to increase the uptake of EVs in Delhi across all segments. This EV utsav is an effort to make the customers more comfortable with the EV ecosystem and bring all original equipment manufacturers (OEM) together on one platform."

The draft proposal for EV Utsav has now been forwarded to Delhi's Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot for final approval. The festival will initially be organised for two-wheelers, the report stated.

The EV Utsav is expected to have multiple stalls where Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), battery producers and swapping agencies along with distribution companies will be made available on a single platform to discuss queries of the customers.

Further, OEMs will also be asked to bring sample vehicles, while separate space will be provided for test drives of these vehicles, the report added.

The transport department's EV cell in the last two months organised online training and consultations for dealers and OEMs to explain to them the process of giving subsidies to customers who are purchasing electric vehicles.

Citing an official from the transport department, the report said, “People often have doubts about the life of an EV, how it will be charged, whether it will be beneficial in the long run, and what the operational cost will be. The OEMs and discoms (power distribution companies) will be there to answer all these questions. Meanwhile, we are working on devising a strategy to publicise the event so that most people can attend it."