“Source:- Telangana Today”
Hyderabad: To reduce air pollution and traffic congestion, the State Cabinet on Wednesday decided to encourage and promote usage of Electric Vehicles (EVs) across the State. The Cabinet approved the new Telangana State Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Solution Policy, during the meeting held at Pragathi Bhavan here. It was also decided to encourage the production of electric vehicles in the State by giving them incentives.
The new policy is aimed to make Telangana a preferred destination for EVs and component manufacturing units, besides making the State a major base for EV and energy storage sectors by attracting large scale investments and creating employment. It also proposed to develop an ecosystem of shared mobility through charging and swapping infrastructure, and proactively supporting creation of EV charging infrastructure. The State government will also provide preferential market access to the companies which establish their manufacturing plants in the State.
Under the new policy, the State Cabinet decided to provide 100 per cent exemption of road tax and registration fee for first EVs to be purchased in the State after the policy comes into force. Accordingly, the incentives will be extended to two lakh two-wheelers, 20,000 three-wheelers, 5,000 commercial passengers vehicles (taxi, tourist cabs etc), 10,000 electric light goods carriers, 5,000 private cars and 500 e-buses.
The State government will extend incentives and subsidies to the manufacturers as well as per the Electronics Policy 2016 which includes 20 per cent capital investment subsidy, SGST reimbursement, power tariff discount, electricity duty exemption, interest subvention, transportation subsidy and other expenditures like stamp duty, transfer duty, registration fee, lease rental assistance and others. India’s leading e-bus manufacturer Olectra Greentech-BYD and electric three-wheeler manufacturer Gayam Motor Works already have their base in the state, while several other companies like e-bus manufacturer Mytrah, batter manufacturer Exicom and other expressed interest to establish their units which will result in proposed investment of Rs 4,600 crore, creating nearly 4,200 jobs. The State government is also establishing an Energy Park at Divitapally and plans to develop another EV Park, besides using the existing Electronic Manufacturing Clusters at Raviryal and Maheshwaram for facilitating establishment of the new EV plants.
Sources said the State government is expecting an investment of Rs 30,000 crore to the State in the next a few years, apart from providing 1.2 lakh direct and 2.5 lakh indirect employment opportunities. The government plans to spend around Rs 1,425 crore towards incentives and make 775 acres available for EV manufacturers.