A policy to promote usage, ownership, and manufacture of electric vehicles (EVs), as well as encourage the setting up of allied infrastructure such as charging stations through a bouquet of incentives and facilitation measures, was unveiled on Friday by the Telangana government.
It is a comprehensive policy and drafted in consultation with industry and other public policy institutions, Industries and IT Minister K.T.Rama Rao said at the launch of the Telangana Electric Vehicle & Energy Storage Policy 2020-2030.
“We believe EV adoption will increase with the policy,” he said, announcing an EV cluster each is to be developed at Chandanvelly in Ranga Reddy district and in Divitipally, Mahbubnagar. There also plans to develop a mobility cluster, details of which are likely to be made public next month. Telangana is also keen on promoting an automobile cluster in Zaheerabad on about 1,000 acres.
Mr. Rao assured the cap on the number of vehicles that will be eligible for incentives – by way of road tax and registration fee exemption – will be extended if a need arises. “I shall go to Cabinet and plead for further increase in the number,” he said, inviting industry to come and make Hyderabad their manufacturing base. Local production is the key to achieve price/performance parity and enable faster adoption of electric vehicles, he said.
He also stressed the need for the Departments of Industries, IT, Transport, and Environment to work cohesively for the policy objectives to be achieved. The policy launch function, in which Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar and Forest Minister A. Indrakaran Reddy as well as senior officials participated saw a number of companies committing investments in EV projects.
MoUs signed
Mytrah Energy signed an MoU for an electric bus manufacturing unit with an investment of ₹ 2,000 crores. The project is expected to generate direct and indirect employment opportunities for 6,750 people. Olectra signed an MoU regarding a ₹300 crore electric bus manufacturing project, which is expected to generate employment for 3,500 people.
Three-wheeler EV maker ETO Motors signed an MoU for a manufacturing unit with an investment of ₹150 crores. The firm said it will bring direct and indirect employment opportunities to about 1,500 people.
Gayam Auto Works and PUR Energy submitted letters of intent regarding their project plans to invest ₹250 crores and ₹500 crores respectively. The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) also signed an MoU with the State government.
Addressing the meeting, Mahindra & Mahindra MD and CEO Pawan Goenka said the company’s tractor plant in Zaheerabad was one of the largest. There were plans to make it the sole manufacturing location for a new tractor series “being developed actually in Japan,” which will lead to a doubling of employment at the facility from the existing 4,500 people. The company is also looking to “bring our next phase of expansion in electric vehicles.”
The policy, he tweeted, “covers demand generation, charging infrastructure, EV manufacturing and as a first, even incentivizes Electric Tractors. I am sure this policy will help to catalyze EV movement.”
Actor Vijay Devarakonda, who is a promoter of Hyderabad-based startup Watts & Volts Mobility, also addressed the meeting.
In a press release, CII Telangana said the policy indicated the State government’s commitment to developing a complete ecosystem domestically around EVs, including manufacturing of batteries and all other components to make EVs and the energy storage solutions sector competitive in the near term.
