The Telangana Electric Vehicle & Energy Storage Policy 2020-2030 aims to be a comprehensive policy to make the state an EV hub.
30 Oct 2020 | 15298 Views | By Nilesh Wadhwa
The southern India state of Telangana is the latest to come out with a comprehensive policy directed at the e-mobility industry and eco-system. Earlier today, the state government announced its ‘Electric Vehicle & Energy Storage Policy 2020-2030’, which aims to make the region a preferred destination for EV manufacturing and a ...
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The southern India state of Telangana is the latest to come out with a comprehensive policy directed at the e-mobility industry and eco-system. Earlier today, the state government announced its ‘Electric Vehicle & Energy Storage Policy 2020-2030’, which aims to make the region a preferred destination for EV manufacturing and a leader in the adoption of green vehicles.
The state has announced several steps, that it believes will help make the state an EV manufacturing and adoption hub. The EV policy makes incentives available for manufacturing of electric vehicles, energy storage systems and related components in Telangana.
The government will provide incentives that includes capital subsidies, SGST (state GST) reimbursements, power tariff subsidies, etc. Incentives shall be made available for two-, three-, four-wheelers, LCVs, shared transport and public transport. Furthermore, waiver on road tax and registration charges, incentives for charging infrastructure will also be given. The policy also encourages ride-hailing services to operate electric vehicles through incentivisation. Battery operated feeder shuttle services at all Hyderabad Metro stations for last-mile connectivity is also announced.
The state government will further promote the adoption of EVs at the institutional level starting at government entities. While a preferential procurement to ‘Make in Telangana Electric Vehicles and Energy Storage Systems’ for government orders shall be provided.
Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao, Minister for IT E&C, MA&UD and Industries & Commerce Departments, Telangana said: “With the advent of clean technology and high-density energy storage solutions, a shift to cleaner transportation is inevitable and electric vehicles are no doubt the future of mobility. The state of Telangana, being a pioneer in adopting sustainability, aims to spearhead the EV revolution in the country. As the state drives the faster adoption of electric vehicles, it aspires to be not just self-sufficient, but also a global hub for electric vehicles and energy storage systems manufacturing. It is our vision to become the most electrified state in the country.”
Purchase incentives
Road tax and registration fee exemption for the first 200,000 electric 2-wheelers, 20,000 electric 3-wheelers and 5,000 four-wheeler for commercial use (cabs, taxi, tourist cabs) purchased and registered within Telangana. Retrofitment incentive at 15 percent of the retrofitment cost upto Rs 15,000 per vehicle for first 5,000 three-wheeler autorickshaws.
Exemption of road tax and registration fee for first 10,000 e-3W (goods), e-carriers as well as electric light goods carriers. For the first 5,000 electric cars registered by private users exemption of road tax and registration fee. Road tax and registration fee exemption for first 500 electric-buses. State Transport Units will be encouraged to purchase electric buses. The government has also waived of road tax and registration fee for electric tractors.
Charging infrastructure
In terms of providing the necessary support to the EV ecosystem the Telangana government has said that it shall facilitate setting of up initial batch of fast charging stations in Hyderabad and other towns in a phased manner, by state entities and private players. The state will provide special power tariff category for EV charging stations. TSREDCO (the state nodal agency) will evaluate to establish public charging stations directly or under licensee/franchise/PPP model at public places such as airports, railway/ metro stations, parking lots, bus depots, markets, petrol stations, malls and electric poles shall be examined for the same.
The policy will also help towards creating a viable business model for private players to set up ARAI compliant EV charging/swapping infrastructure. TREDCO will coordinate with state DISCOMS to ensure supply of renewable energy for EV charging stations and set up solar rooftop plants as per net metering policy and captive power plants shall be encouraged as per the TSREC Guidelines.
Manufacturing incentive
The Telangana government says it will incentivise EV and ESS sectors as per the subsidies and incentives available under the Electronics Policy 2016. The government will extend tailor-made benefits to Mega and Strategic Projects on case to case basis. Investment of more than Rs 200 crore in plant and machinery or providing employment to more than 1,000 persons will be categorised as mega project.
The announced incentives for manufacturers include –
Developing EV and ESS cluster
The Telangana EV Policy has also announced development of mega EV and ESS manufacturing cluster with global standard infrastructure. The EV cluster shall have common facilities as given below –
Promoting R&D in Telangana
A dedicated facility shall be developed to house EV R&D centres by domestic and global EV Majors. The state government will utilise Hyderabad’s strength in technology domain shall to provide quality manpower for such centres. This hub is also expected to attract global R&D activities on other emerging mobility trends such as connected and autonomous vehicles.
The state government will also partner with premier Technical Institutes and research establishments across the state to establishing Centres of Excellence for conducting market-focused research on battery technologies, battery management, motors, and controllers. It will also seek industry participation and leverage the government of India EV policy to provide grant to these centres. The government says NFTDC (Non-Ferrous technologies Development center) at Hyderabad is running one such COE on electric vehicle technologies, under the government of India FAME scheme.
T- Fund - the government shall offer financial support to start-ups for research and innovation in EV and battery technologies. Yearly awards shall be instituted to recognise breakthrough work in battery technologies in separate categories for OEM’s, ancillaries and start-ups
T-Works Automotive Prototyping Center – recognised as India’s largest prototyping centre, T- WORKS shall have a dedicated wing for prototyping of EV components/ assembly and battery. Industry partnership in the same shall be invited from EV OEMs and large component manufacturers. The facility shall serve start-ups and MSME units in the EV space at subsidised rates.
Sohinder Gill, director general, SMEV welcomed the announcement and said, "We welcome the announcement of EV policy by Telangana government. While the policy offers non-fiscal incentives such as encouraging ride-hailing services, institutional adoption and government buying, extends support for the creation of charging infrastructure and setting up of manufacturing units but, it misses offering direct incentives to customers, which are much required to motivate the citizens to adopt environmentally-friendly vehicles. We believe that bringing volumes should be the priority of the policy that would automatically augment the market. We hope that the government would look into it and come up with a direct subsidy scheme, which will help in demand creation."