Authorities, however, believe that the ecosystem for electric vehicles is concentrated in Bengaluru. DH File photo
Karnataka’s much-awaited policy on electric vehicles is likely to lay a red carpet for companies to set up manufacturing units in and around Bengaluru, straying away from its industrial policy that otherwise seeks to keep industries away from the crowded city.
The government’s industrial policy 2014-19 classifies Bengaluru North, Bengaluru South, Bengaluru East, Anekal, Devanahalli, Doddaballapur, Hoskote and Nelamangala under Zone 4, where industries do not enjoy incentives or concessions. The idea was to move industries away from the city towards Hyderabad-Karnataka and other backward districts.
Authorities, however, believe that the ecosystem for electric vehicles is concentrated in Bengaluru. “The city has the best ecosystem with the right talent pool. So we are trying to incentivise manufacturing here to ensure synergy with the availability of resources,” Additional Chief Secretary (Commerce and Industry) D V Prasad told DH.
While authorities are tight-lipped on what the policy will offer for electric vehicle manufacturers, incentives and concessions will be modelled on the lines of the Aerospace Policy. “Because the ecosystem for aerospace was in Bengaluru, we had to amend the Aerospace Policy and provide incentives for industries in Bengaluru, which was otherwise a zero-incentive zone. The same has been done with the electric vehicles policy,” said R Ramesh, director, technical cell, commerce and industries department.
Under the existing industrial policy, MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) enjoy a host of incentives and concessions in Zones 1, 2 and 3: investment promotion subsidy, exemption from stamp duty, reimbursement of land conversion fee, exemption from entry tax among others.
The policy is awaiting a Cabinet nod and the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government wants to formally launch it before the BJP-led Centre comes out with its own policy. The Nitin Gadkari-led Transport Ministry wants India to be transformed into an all-electric vehicle market by 2030. The Centre has also announced a National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP), which targets 6-7 million sales of hybrid and electric vehicles year-on-year from 2020 onward.
“Our electric vehicles policy has been prepared through very organised and structured stakeholder consultations. We have also studied and compared electric vehicle policies that exist in other countries,” Prasad said. The presence of manufacturing units would make more sense in Bengaluru, Prasad added, given the high levels of pollution and fuel consumption in the city. “But the policy will benefit the entire state.”
DH News Service