Maharahstra announces EV Policy 2021

The Maharashtra state government has announced a revised Electric Vehicle (EV) policy 2021 under which it is targeting a 10% penetration of EVs in the new vehicle registrations in the state by 2025. This includes at least 25% electrification of urban fleet aggregators in the e-commerce, delivery and logistics domains. In April next year, it aims to go all-electric for new government vehicles. In addition, the state government plans to electrify the public and last-mile delivery transport by 25% and 15% of the bus fleet of its state-owned road transport unit respectively.  Maharashtra aims to be India’s top producer of BEVs in terms of annual production capacity. It will develop 2,375 public and semi-public charging stations in seven major urban areas and four national highways. It will earmark INR 930 crore over a four-year period to promote EV adoption and create charging infrastructure. Its budget is expected to be funded through a combination of a green cess levied on the registration of old vehicles, and fuel cess. To boost EV adoption, the Maharashtra government is providing a slew of incentives including “property tax rebates for installing private charging infrastructure within housing colony premises” and “exemption from road tax and registration charges