Starting With Noida, UP To Make 10 'Model Electric Mobility Cities' To Boost Electric Vehicle Use

In an effort to increase electric vehicle adoption in the state, Uttar Pradesh government has come up with a plan to develop ¡®Model Electric Mobility Cities.¡¯ Yogi Adityanath-run administration has named 10 cities to be incorporated under the plan, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi¡¯s constituency of Varanasi.

The aim is to attract investments into the EV industry in the state. UP government is eyeing up to Rs 40,000 crore worth of investment by 2024. This will come as a progression to the state¡¯s already established automobile industry that includes the likes of Tata Motors, Yamaha and many others.

The government is planning to offer incentives to electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers and simultaneously generate up to 50,000 jobs in the region. The policy has already been approved by the state¡¯s governor, Anandiben Patel.

The Electric Plan

The policy draft highlights 10 cities - Varanasi, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Agra, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Mathura, Ghaziabad, Meerut and Noida, chosen to be the model Electric Mobility cities. The project will first be piloted in Noida, where the implementation of the project will begin in 2020.

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In these cities, the government will attempt to switch 70% of public transport fleets to electric by 2030. In addition, UP government also target to replace 50% of ambulances, cabs, school buses and government vehicles with EVs by 2024.

The policy also highlights a concrete plan for setting up an equally vibrant charging infrastructure. As per the policy, completion certificates to new housing and commercial complexes over 5,000 sq m will only be provided if they have EV charging facilities.

In addition, the policy includes up to 2 lakh electric charging stations by 2024 to power the EVs in the state. In the same time period, UP government targets a total of 1 million EVs, including 1000 e-buses, on the state¡¯s roads.

What¡¯s on offer?

To boost the EV ecosystem in the state, UP government will offer incentives in the form of 25% waiver in land cost to OEMs. This will be coupled with other benefits under UP Investment Policy of 2017.

(Representative Image: BCCL)

On top of this, the state government will also reimburse one-fourth of the cost of setting up EV charging stations in the state, up to Rs 6 lakh per station. The plan is to have such charging stations set up across every 50 kms on all the major expressways of the state. Incentives will also be offered to the residential complexes and IT parks setting up such charging facilities.

UP government is also encouraging ¡®private EV parks¡¯ where plug-and-play facility will also be offered to EV users. The government is willing to incentivise the manufacturers of EVs and batteries through interest subsidies for the same.

As mentioned above, UP is already a hub for automobile manufacturers as well as battery makers and with such incentives in place for EV manufacturing, the state might leapfrog to the forefront of EV production in India. To make sure the process isn¡¯t hindered, the state¡¯s EV policy has already implemented a single-window system for the ease of doing business as well as one-time disbursement of incentives.