Stressing on the promotion of research and innovation in electric mobility, Chandigarh administration has announced to provide a slew of incentives to the first ten start-ups promising zero-emission mobility.
On the recommendation of the Chandigarh Renewal Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST), a provision has been made to provide infrastructure incentives and patent fees to promising start-ups in the UT’s EV Policy.
A senior official, who did not wish to be named, said, “In the infrastructure incentive category, the first 10 start-ups with zero-emission mobility will be given a monthly grant of ₹3,000 per person ( ₹18,000 per month). They will also be paid up to 50% of the patent fee and other associated expenses for nationally and internationally registered patents. For nationally registered patents, they will be paid up to ₹2 lakh and for international patents up to ₹5 lakh.”
To avail benefits of the scheme, the start-up must be working on products or services related to the EV sector, it should be registered with Startup India, and should have a registered office in Chandigarh.
To encourage the recycling of EV batteries, the UT administration will also make efforts to set up businesses specializing in the same.
The UT administration rolled out its EV policy on September 20, under which not only will incentives be given to EV buyers, but the UT will also stop the registration of two-wheelers and three-wheelers running on internal combustion engines (ICE) from 2024-25.
Vehicles of the administration and municipal corporations will also be phased out and replaced with electric vehicles. Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) will also only purchase electric buses.
The education department will also introduce two-week courses on electric mobility, repair and maintenance, and battery manufacturing. To create a skilled workforce for manufacturing and servicing electric vehicles, the administration will set up skill-enhancement centres.
These vocational courses will also be offered to those manning the charging stations.
Under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles in India (FAME) scheme, the central government has sanctioned 70 charging stations in Chandigarh. Work to install these stations is already underway.
Two-wheelers and four-wheelers can be charged from the same charging point.
As many as 48 charging stations have already been installed in Chandigarh under Phase-I of the FAME scheme. These charging points will be installed in parking lots. Solar power plants are also being set up in many places.