No new registrations of petrol and diesel 2-, 3-wheelers as Delhi goes electric

but the provision was dropped after stakeholder consultations,” Delhi transport secretary-cum-commissioner Niharika Rai said in a joint press briefing on Monday that was also attended by Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta and ministers from the state's cabinet.

- Manas Pimpalkhare

Mint reported in March this year that the Delhi government may make a U-turn on incentives for hybrid vehicles.

Announcing the policy on Monday, Gupta said ₹15,000 crore worth of investments will be made towards incentives and setting up of charging infrastructure. Rai added that 32,000 public EV chargers will be set up during the runtime of the policy.

The policy will provide purchase incentives for electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and small trucks, chief minister Gupta said during the conference. According to officials, two-wheelers will get a subsidy of ₹30,000 in the first year of the policy, ₹20,000 in the second, and ₹10,000 in the third.

Similarly, electric three-wheelers will get a subsidy of ₹50,000 in the first year, ₹40,000 in the second, and ₹30,000 in the third. Light commercial vehicles (N1 category) will get incentives of ₹1,00,000, transport commissioner Rai said.

The policy also announced mandatory electrification for school buses. Schools must ensure 10% of their buses are electric within two years of the policy being implemented, and 20% of their buses within three years.

“The plan seems to be going all in for electric vehicles,” said Subhabrata Sengupta, partner at Avalon Consulting. “It makes sense because if reducing fuel use and pollution is the objective, hybrids are half a solution. It’s better to give more incentive for BEVs given the total finance pool is constrained.”