The Telangana Government has approved the new Telangana State Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Solution Policy seeking to encourage green mobility while attracting investments in the sector.
The State Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao took a number of decisions to attract investments into the State. These include focusing on local job creation, encouraging production of electric vehicles (EVs) in the state by giving them incentives, and transforming the state into an e-hub for electric mobility.
Taking forward the Central government’s FAME II framework, the new EV policy is aimed at making Telangana a preferred destination for electric mobility and component manufacturing units, besides making the State a major base for EV and energy storage sectors.
The policy framework seeks to attract investments and create employment in the rapidly-growing sector, which is seen to have immense potential.
The State government proposes to establish a couple of exclusive parks — Energy Park and another EV Park. These will be supported by the infrastructure created at the existing Electronic Manufacturing Clusters at Raviryal and Maheshwaram for facilitating establishment of the new EV manufacturing plants.
The State government plans to invest ₹1,425 crore towards incentives and provide 775 acres of land for EV manufacturers by promoting a hub.
The State expects to attract investments of ₹30,000 crore over the next few years, apart from facilitating creation of 1.2 lakh direct and 2.5 lakh indirect employment opportunities.
While releasing the policy, it proposes to develop an ecosystem of shared mobility through battery charging and swapping infrastructure, as well as supporting creation of EV charging infrastructure.
As part of this policy move, the State government will provide preferential market access to the companies which establish their manufacturing plants in the State.
The State has decided to provide 100 per cent exemption of road tax and registration fee for the first EVs to be purchased in the State once the policy comes into force.
It is proposed to extend incentives to two lakh two-wheelers, 20,000 three-wheelers, 5,000 commercial passenger vehicles including taxis and tourist cabs, 10,000 electric light goods carriers, 5,000 private cars and 500 e-buses.
The State has also decided to extend incentives and subsidies to the manufacturers as well, as per the Electronics Policy 2016.
This includes 20 per cent capital investment subsidy, SGST reimbursement, power tariff discount, electricity duty exemption, interest subvention, transportation subsidy and other expenditures like stamp duty, transfer duty, registration fee, lease rental assistance and others.
E-bus manufacturer Olectra Greentech-BYD and electric three-wheeler manufacturer Gayam Motor Works have already set up their facilities in the state, while several other companies including Mytrah Energy and battery manufacturer Exicom have expressed interest in establishing their units.
The total investments that could come through these proposals could be about ₹4,600 crore, with potential to create 4,200 jobs.