Delhi EV capital of India, says Kejriwal

New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said Delhi has become the country's EV capital with the highest number of electric vehicles being bought in the city. Speaking at the inauguration of 42 charging stations, Kejriwal also claimed that pollution levels in the national capital have declined since 2014.

"We started promoting EVs to curb pollution and keeping in mind that they are the future. We framed a policy in 2020 for EVs and set a target that, by 2025, one-fourth of all vehicles bought in Delhi will be electric," Kejriwal said.

The Delhi EV Policy was launched in August 2020 with the aim of establishing the city as the country's EV capital and accelerating the pace of EV adoption across vehicle segments, especially in the mass category of two-wheelers, public and shared vehicles and goods carriers. "...I am happy to share that 13 per cent of all the vehicles bought in Delhi are electric ones. Since August 2020, 1.28 lakh electric vehicles have been bought in Delhi," he further said. The Delhi chief minister said that even the Niti Aayog has praised Delhi's EV policy.

Kejriwal also claimed that Delhi offers the cheapest rate of electricity at the charging stations. "The people of Delhi have supported us. It has become a people's movement. We have the highest number of charging stations across the country. A third of charging stations across the country are in Delhi," he said.