Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Wednesday congratulated Maharashtra Environment and Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray on the state government's new Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy.
"We're confident that the policy will attract more investments to increase the penetration of EVs in the state," FICCI president Uday Shankar said in statement. "FICCI hopes there will be more accelerated deployment of charging stations and other eco systems for e-mobility in the future," he added.
The Worli MLA, meanwhile, thanked FICCI and wrote: "We are looking forward to working with FICCI in bringing industry-wide interest in Maharashtra’s transition towards Greener mobility solutions."
RattanIndia-backed EV maker Revolt Motors has also welcomed the new Maharashtra Electric Vehicle Policy, saying its implementation, in addition to the FAME II incentives, will accelerate the process of EV adoption in the state.
Moreover, the increased subsidy being offered under the new scheme will make EV motorcycles more affordable and accessible to consumers, Revolt Motors said on Wednesday.
Credit ratings agency ICRA said that given the state's sizeable contribution to overall vehicle sales in India, the policy's allocation towards demand incentive (including early-bird discount) is a major positive.
What is the new Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy?
As per the Policy, the state government targets to achieve 10 per cent penetration of EVs as new vehicle registrations by 2025, as well as 25 per cent EV adoption in public transport and last-mile delivery vehicles in key cities -- Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad, and Nashik, by 2025.
Besides, it also aims to have an all-electric fleet in government vehicles starting from April 2022. Also, under the policy, the government will offer incentives to set up 2,500 charging stations in key cities and major highways in the state through subsidy incentives.
New real estate projects will be mandated to set up EV charging ready parking sites, according to the state's New EV policy.
The new policy, which has updated the one announced in 2018, was released by Additional Chief Secretary (Transport) Ashish Singh and state environment minister Aaditya Thackeray and others.
"The policy has some ambitious targets. Electric vehicles must comprise at least 10 per cent of total vehicles registered by 2025. We also want to achieve 25 per cent EV share in public transport in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Nashik. It includes converting 15 per cent of the MSRTC fleet into EVs by 2025. We also intend to make Maharashtra the top producer of battery driven EVs in India in terms of annual production capability," Singh said.
He said another target laid down in the new policy was to establish one gigawatt of battery manufacturing capability in the state.
Speaking on the occasion, minister Thackeray said the conventional fuel-based passenger vehicle market may be hesitant as engines are getting upgraded in Euro-IV and V models but a major change can be brought about in the public transport sector by tapping MSRTC and civic-run undertakings for the EV initiative.
"The Union government's FAME-II policy and Maharashtra's new EV policy can be combined for greater effectiveness. We are trying to set up EV charging stations in these five major cities though several incentives, with residential and office areas being on the priority list to set up EV charging stations," Thackeray said.
The EV policy has proposed that procurement of all new vehicles from April next year would be electric ones, while last mile delivery vehicles in cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nashik and Amravati will be EVs by 2025, Singh said.
"There are plans to set up 2,500 charging stations in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nashik, Amravati and Solapur, as well as along four major highways, namely Mumbai-Pune, Mumbai-Nashik, Mumbai-Nagpur and Pune-Nashik," he added.
The official said, under the policy, which will be in force till 2025, electric two-wheelers will get incentives of up to Rs 44,000 while it could be as high as 1.75 lakh for four wheelers.
Residential societies and home owners could get property tax rebates if they set up EV charging stations, the official added.
(With PTI inputs)
