Green Number Plate for "EV's"

New Law for "Electric Motor Vehicle"

Indian Government approves Green Number Plate for EVS, to offer privilege and concession.

The Government of India has taken yet another step in pushing for greater adoption of electric vehicles in India with the approval of green number plates for EVs in the country.

The green number plates will make for the fifth type of number plates offered to civilians at the moment. These will feature white fonts for EVs owned as personal vehicles, while commercially operated EVs will feature yellow fonts. These number plates will not only be unique to signify EVs, but also entail a bunch of privileges and concessions to be put in place for early adopters of EVs. These may include toll concessions on highways, exclusive parking zones and specialised lanes in congested areas. Furthermore, commercial vehicle operators may soon be mandated to include a percentage of electric cars in their fleets to increase the adoption of electric mobility. This move may kick in onward of 2020, when India is expected to have a larger number of publically accessible charging stations.

The government is contemplating permitting youth in the age group of 16-18 years to drive e-scooters, which are gearless and this will lead to a big demand for e-scooters, the minister noted.

Under the Motor Vheicles Act, 1988, those in the age group of 16-18 years are granted licence for below 50 CC gearless scooters.

Incidentally there is no scooter in this category made in the country.

"The government is also contemplating to ask taxi aggregators to have an incremental share of electric vehicles from 2020 onwards, which could be 1 per cent of the fleet every year," Gadkari said.

In our country 24 million vehicles sold in India in 2017-18, electric vehicles accounted for barely about 1 per cent, the official added.