Electric Vehicles This Week: Govt To Roll Out New EV Policy, Ahmedabad Municipal Body To Get 50 E-Buses, And More

Unable to hold out against the EV revolution sweeping the world, the central government has decided to roll out a new policy for promotion of electric vehicles in the country. The EV policy, advocating minimal subsidies, will start with creating favourable ecosystems in nine polluted cities.
It is likely to be announced at a global e-mobility summit to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 7.
The policy will be implemented on a smaller scale initially to ensure a smooth transition and elicit cooperation from automobile manufacturers, a government official familiar with the development was cited as saying in media reports.
According to the source, the government has already started consultations with industry bodies, including the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and automakers. The consultations span five aspects — challenges and support required for electric vehicle manufacturing, battery manufacturing, setting up of charging infrastructure, promoting electric vehicles in commercial fleets, and the role of renewable energy in electric mobility.
The move is in line with India’s plan to reduce its carbon emissions. Only recently, government think-tank Niti Aayog instructed Indian states to procure electric buses for public transportation under its 15-point action plan ‘Breathe India’.  The ministry of petroleum and natural gas (MoPNG) on July 23 asked the Supreme Court to ban the sale and manufacturing of Bharat Stage-VI non-compliant vehicles in India, starting April 1, 2020.
Let’s take a look at EV developments in our 34th edition of Electric Vehicles This Week.
Source: INC42