Budget 2022: Special mobility zones and battery-swapping policy for EVs soon

The government will soon come up with a battery-swapping policy and develop ‘special mobility zones’ for electric vehicles (EVs), Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in her Budget 2022 speech.

NEW DELHI: To promote green mobility, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget 2022 speech announced that the government will soon come up with a battery-swapping policy and develop “special mobility zones” for electric vehicles (EVs). The battery swapping policy is expected to give a big boost to the e-commerce delivery and three-wheeler transport service sector as both these categories are bound by time constraints making instant battery swapping more viable over charging the existing battery.

India has set a target of 30% EV sales penetration for private cars, 70% for commercial vehicles, 40% for buses and 80% for two-wheelers and three-wheelers by 2030. (File/Mint)

“To promote a shift to the use of public transport in urban areas...special mobility zones with zero fossil fuel policy to be introduced...Considering space constraints in urban areas, a ‘Battery Swapping Policy’ will be brought in,” Sitharaman said in her budget speech.

India has set a target of 30% EV sales penetration for private cars, 70% for commercial vehicles, 40% for buses and 80% for two-wheelers and three-wheelers by 2030. In January, the power ministry revised the rules for the EV charging infrastructure in the country, in which it allowed owners to charge their EVs using the existing electricity connections in their homes or offices. The government also allowed allotment of government land to private entities through bidding for setting up public charging stations (PCS).

According to the data with the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH), India has 974,313 registered electric vehicles. But, only 1,028 public charging stations (PCS) have been installed throughout the country so far, according to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).

At present, only about 2-3 e-car variants cost below ₹15 lakh in the country. The cost of two-wheelers and three-wheelers have already come almost at par with the existing petrol after factoring in the subsidies. Apart from the high cost of EVs, a major cause for the sluggish sale of EVs in the country, other than Delhi, has been the lack of charging infrastructure.