Karnataka government approves electric vehicle policy

The Karnataka state government on Wednesday approved the ‘Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy 2017’, which aims to bring down pollution levels, attract investments, bring about job creation and make the state a hub for alternative fuel vehicles.

According to a Mint report, the policy aims to rope in investments worth Rs 31,000 crore and create around 55,000 jobs. The state government also intends for the policy to give a push to the “Make in Karnataka” initiative by inviting manufacturers of alternative fuel vehicles to set up shop in the state.

In order to this, the Karnataka government will have to raise new electric vehicles (EV) manufacturing zones, and bring about new charging stations in public and private areas. These include airports, railway stations, metro stations. It also hopes to encourage start-ups to work on EV-related business models.

The state government is also considering of providing concessions and other incentives for manufacturers in line with the Industrial Policy 2014-19 throughout the state.

This policy by the Karnataka government comes against the backdrop of the central government's ambitious target of running the country on an all-electric vehicle market by 2031, so as to reduce its carbon footprint.