Telangana plugs-in for EV gains

The newly formed and youngest state of Telangana is working on a draft policy that will look towards attracting component and automobile manufacturers in the electric vehicle (EV) segment in form of incentives, says PTI. 

The state government of Telangana is expected to release the final draft of its comprehensive EV policy, in the next two months, as per a senior official who spoke to PTI. 

The report further quotes, Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary (IT and Industry), Telangana, saying, "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. 

Ranjan also mentioned that the government is also in touch with battery manufacturers and auto companies for setting up manufacturing units in the state. "There is a lot of interest in India from battery manufacturers. Companies are going around various states and obviously we are also in talks (with the companies)." 

The up-coming Hyderabad Metro Rail project will also be looked up on where usage of EVs can be leveraged by consumers for the last mile connectivity. Plans are also afoot to have EVs at all stations once the Metro rail project gets commissioned. 

The Telangana government’s start-up incubator, T-Hub, recently launched the Smart Mobility and Transportation Cluster, and will also play a integral role for enhancing mobility while reducing congestion, air pollution and road traffic incidents, an official had recently said.