Improving incentives: Delhi's new EV policy needed more efficiency

Delhi's EV Policy 2.0 aims to accelerate electric mobility, but its success hinges on charging infrastructure, clean power and coordinated action across the NCR

Delhi’s updated electric-vehicle (EV2) policy, effective July 1, is an exercise in good intention marred by impractical policy design. The policy rightly seeks to stay ahead of the curve of winter pollution, which creates a public-health crisis each year, an objective that is also visible in planned restrictions on vehicle movements during peak pollution months. The target is to achieve 30 per cent electrification of the state’s total vehicle fleet by 2030 (under EV1, the state achieved 15 per cent EV penetration). To this end, only EV three-wheelers and light commercial vehicles will be registered in the state from January 1, 2027; from April 1, 2028, only electric two-wheelers will be registered. School buses will have to convert at least 10 per cent of their fleet to EVs within two years of the notification and 30 per cent by 2030. To incentivise this conversion, the state is offering 100 per cent waiver on road tax and registration fees — though for passenger cars this will be valid only for vehicles priced up to ₹30 lakh. Two- and three-wheelers and light commercial vehicles will receive purchase subsidies for three years, and there are scrapping incentives for vehicles below Bharat IV emission norms.

 

The plan is being seen as a blueprint for other states. By offering subsidies, the state government has sought to balance the coercive nature of the policy in enforcing the shift from vehicles running on internal combustion engines (ICEs) to EVs. However, instead of forcing the shift and stopping the registration of ICE vehicles, which could create problems for many, the government should have incentivised EVs to bridge the difference in costs and let consumers decide. In terms of operational issues, it will be important to ensure that citizens, especially two-wheeler owners, are not made to run from pillar to post to access incentives. Further, it will be a challenge to establish the required public charging stations. These are vital for two-wheeler owners since passenger-car owners, who are relatively affluent, can afford private facilities. The policy mandates the installation of 30,000 charging points by March 31, 2030. Considering the city has about 2,000 operational charging stations, this target could be a tough ask. Battery-swapping stations, too, will need exponential expansion from the current 232.

 

Questions could also arise on the outcomes of this policy. Charging points powered by thermal power defeats the purpose. Demand for charging points will significantly add to grid pressures, especially in the summer, and add to emission. The past few weeks have seen power cuts and load-shedding in Delhi. Things could worsen in the absence of proper planning.  Focusing on solar-powered charging points would leaven the impact of higher coal-powered electricity generation. Besides, Delhi sits at the hub of the National Capital Region (NCR), which includes urban centres of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Thousands of ICE vehicles from these areas and beyond enter the city every day and account for significant additions to Delhi’s transport emission. A policy synchronised with these hubs would have constituted a more realistic approach to curbing emission. Finally, farm fires still play a starring role in winter pollution. Curbing these, too, calls for a coordinated multistate approach and is an equally critical component of the holistic pollution-mitigation strategy the NCR needs. It includes a well-meant EV policy as one of the many pieces of the puzzle.