(a) whether the Government proposes to roll out charging infrastructure for electric vehicles across the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons for the delay; and
(c) the steps taken by the Government to promote such vehicles?
THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR POWER, NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY AND THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
( SHRI R.K. SINGH)
(a) & (b) : Yes, Sir. The Government of India have, after extensive consultations with State Governments, different departments/agencies of Central Government and the stakeholders issued –“Charging Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles (EV) –Guidelines and Standards” dated 14.12.2018, which was further revised on 1.10.2019 – to rollout EV Public charging infrastructure as national priority. The salient features of revised guidelines are as below:
I. There shall be no licensing requirement or clearance certificates for establishing a Public Charging Station.\
II. Guidelines specifies the type of chargers of different standards (viz. CCS, CHAdeMO, Type-2 AC, Bharat AC 001) thus ensuring that the PCS owners have the freedom to install any one or combination of chargers as per the market requirement.
III. Bureau of Energy Efficiency has been nominated as the Central Nodal Agency (CNA) for Charging Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles.
IV. Tariff for supply of electricity to EV-PCS shall be as per Tariff Policy under Section 3 of Electricity Act 2003 as amended from time to time.
V. In such cases where PCS has been installed with Government Incentives (financial or otherwise), State Nodal Agency/State Government/Appropriate Commission shall fix the ceiling of Service Charges to be charged by such PCS.
(c) : Following steps have been taken by the Government to promote Electric Vehicles:
(i) Under Phase-I of FAME-India Scheme, the Department of Heavy Industry sanctioned about 500 Charging Stations/ Infrastructure for about Rs. 43 Crore (approx.) in cities like Bangalore, Chandigarh, Jaipur and NCR of Delhi. Out of 500 charging Stations, 250 charging stations have been installed. Recently, the Department has also sanctioned 2,636 charging stations to 19 public entities in 62 cities spread over 24 states, under Phase-II of FAME-India Scheme.
(ii) Phase-II of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME-India) Scheme will mainly focus on supporting electrification of public & shared transportation, and aims to support through incentives about 7000 e-Buses, 5 lakh e-3 Wheelers, 55000 e-4 Wheeler Passenger Cars and 10 lakh e-2 Wheelers. In addition, creation of charging infrastructure will be also supported to address range anxiety among users of electric vehicles
(iii) Recent initiatives taken by the Government to promote Electric Vehicles:
• GST on EVs has been reduced from 12% to 5%
• Income tax rebate of up to INR 1.5 lakhs on interest payable on loans for purchase of EVs
• Customs duty exemptions on parts exclusively used in EVs (e-drive assembly, on-board charger, e-compressor, and charging gun)
(iv) The Government on 18th October, 2018 has also granted exemption to the Battery Operated Transport Vehicles from the requirements of permit.
(v) Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), is implementing National e-Mobility Programme to promote green transportation i.e. use of EVs resulting in reduction of air pollution. Till date, 1,510 e-cars have been deployed/under deployment for Government organizations. For charging these e-cars, 300 AC & 170 DC Captive chargers have also been commissioned in their office premises.
(vi) Grid Connectivity and Safety regulations: Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has issued amendments to following regulations of CEA:
1. Central Electricity Authority (Technical Standards for Connectivity to the Distributed Generation Resources) Amendment Regulations, 2019.
2. Central Electricity Authority (Measures relating to Safety and Electric Supply) Amendment Regulations, 2019.
*************