Telangana weighs incentive package to woo Electric Vehicle players

Hyderabad: The Telangana government is currently weighing the incentive options as it plans to woo players in the electric vehicles (EV) segment.

The government has come up with the final draft of a comprehensive EV policy, which is expected to be unveiled in the next one-and-a-half to two months, a senior official said.
According to Telanganas Principal Secretary (IT and Industry) Jayesh Ranjan, all components to go in the e-vehicle policy have been decided.

"In the e-vehicle policy, all the components which will go in the policy have been decided. Based on that we have prepared the first draft. Now we will have an internal meeting in the next few days to finalise the numbers. For example, if we are providing some incentives, how much should that incentive be," Ranjan told PTI.

"Our team has made some assessment on what incentives will be useful and what incentives will work. We have to sit and take that decision," he said.

"Once that is done then the policy will be circulated to other departments for their comments and finally to the chief secretary, the industry minister and the chief minister," the official said.

This process will go on and take about a month-and-a-half to two months, he said.
"We are working out on the incentives," he said replying to a query.

Ranjan said they are also in touch with battery manufactures and auto companies to set up units in the state for manufacturing.

"Theres lot of interest in India from battery manufacturers. Companies are going around various states and obviously we are also in talks (with the companies)," he said.

To provide the last mile connectivity to commuters through electric vehicles along the Hyderabad Metro Rail stretches, plans are also afoot to have EVs at all stations once the Metro rail project gets commissioned.

T-Hub, a startup incubator by the Telangana government which recently launched the Smart Mobility and Transportation Cluster, will work towards enhancing mobility while reducing congestion, air pollution and road traffic incidents, an official had recently said.

With India fast emerging as a global leader in clean energy, the Centre has put forth its vision to transition to 100 per cent electric vehicles by 2030.

The Telangana government is putting together policy and incentives for all stakeholders in this industry, automobile manufacturers, aggregators, and end users, he said.

"This will help encourage innovation in the space of EV, autonomous vehicles and other cutting-edge technologies," Ranjan had earlier said.

As a part of this cluster, the state plans to put out a policy document on EV very shortly, he had said.