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Proposal for green license plates for EVs gets green signal

In January 2018, the Niti Aayog had come up with a proposal to introduce green coloured license plates for electric vehicles (EVs). The draft policy has now received an approval from the Government of India in a bid to increase the number of electric vehicles on road.

According to Nitin Gadkari, Union Ministry for Road Transport and Highways, green plates with white font will be for private EVs, while green plates with yellow font will be reserved for taxis. Green boards will be introduced to differentiate between EVs and other vehicles easily. It has been proposed that EVs could get benefits like preferential treatment in parking, free entry into congested zones and concession on tolls.

The government could also ask cab aggregators to maintain an incremental share of EV vehicles in its fleet from 2020 onwards. This incremental share is expected to be set at 1%. The same rule may be applied to public transport operators. Permit exemptions for e-buses, e-taxis, e-autos and e-bikes is also being looked into.

The rate of depreciation on EVs could be set at 50% as opposed to 15% for conventional vehicles. The government is also looking at reducing the GST on batteries to 12%.

The proposal includes allowing teenagers in the age group of 16-18 to ride e-scooters. As per the current law, those in this age group are granted a license to ride gearless scooters under 50 cc.

Source: News18

 
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