Maharashtra govt holds meet to review EV Policy 2021 and its implementation across state

Maharashtra government held a review meeting on Thursday to ensure that the Electric Vehicle Policy 2021 of the state will be implemented to the fullest, said Maharashtra's Minister of Tourism and Environment, Aditya Thackeray. On the occasion of World Electric Vehicle (EV) Day, Thackeray posted on his official Twitter account, “We reaffirm our commitment to making Maharashtra, the hub for EV manufacturing and use." The state is a part of the country's initiative to transition to Electronic Vehicles by 2030. There are approximately 40,000 EVs in Mumbai already.

Aditya Thackeray further said in the tweet, “Today we held a review meeting of all relevant depts of govt to ensure that the EV Policy 2021 of Maharashtra will be implemented to the fullest. Next week we will be having an online workshop for OEMs, vehicle supply chains & citizens for a better understanding of policy.” The young Shiv Sena leader continued, "The Govt of Maharashtra is keen to push electric mobility on a large scale, seeing it as an opportunity to help our urban agglomerates and districts Race to Zero in carbon emissions from the transport sector." Earlier in August, Aditya Thackeray inaugurated a parking lot that was specifically designed to cater to the electronic vehicles at the Koninoor building in Mumbai. After promising to tackle the problem of pollution in Maharashtra and specifically in the city of Mumbai, the Maharashtra Government has been urging the citizens of the state to invest more in electric vehicles. Providing people with Mumbai’s first electric vehicle charging point at public parking is a part of the same initiative.

NITI Ayog’s initiative for transition to EVs

Earlier in August, NITI Aayog, the think tank that assists state governments to frame public policies released a handbook of guidelines to help the state governments and local bodies to frame policies and norms that would accelerate the purchases of electric vehicles. The objective of the guidelines was to prepare a standardised procedure that would help in the rapid transition to electric mobility in the country. NITI Ayog said in the handbook, “The transition to electric mobility is a promising global strategy for decarbonizing the transport sector. India is among a handful of countries that support the global EV30@30 campaign, which targets to have at least 30% new vehicle sales be electric by 2030.”

With ANI inputs