April 13, 2026
Delhi's new EV policy: 100% waiver on registration and road tax for Electric 4Ws; only Electric 2Ws to be registered after 2028
Vehicles account for 23% of Delhi's air pollution. Switching to electric will help, but won't be enough. Hope this is accompanied by ways to reduce the total number of cars too!
Image by Maahid Photos on Unsplash
What's happening?
Vehicles account for 23% of Delhi's air pollution, and the city's new EV Policy 2026-2030 is making a dramatic move to fix it.
For 4-wheelers (cars): - Complete road tax & registration fee waiver for EVs priced up to ₹30 lakh - Scrappage incentives of up to ₹1 lakh when purchasing new EVs (trading in BS-IV or older vehicles)
For 2-wheelers (bikes & scooters): - From 2028, only electric models can be newly registered - Subsidies of ₹10,000 per kWh of battery capacity (capped at ₹30,000) - Incentives decline over three years
For 3-wheelers (auto-rickshaws): - From 2027, only electric models can be newly registered - Initial incentive of ₹50,000 (declining to ₹30,000)
For goods vehicles (e-trucks): - Incentives of ₹1 lakh (year 1) → ₹75,000 (year 2) → ₹50,000 (year 3)
Public transport: - 30% of school buses electrified by 2030 - Government fleet phased transition to electric, with scope for hydrogen alternatives
Why should you care?
Air Quality & Health — Delhi's air is a serious health crisis. Shifting from petrol to electric transport removes a direct source of toxic emissions — nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and carbon — from the air your family breathes every day.
Cost Savings — Yes, EVs cost more upfront, but the subsidies (up to ₹1 lakh) plus zero road tax and registration fees plus lower fuel costs (electricity is cheaper than petrol) add up to real savings over the vehicle's lifetime. Plus, the resale value of petrol vehicles is now at risk — with registration bans starting 2027-2028, you could be stuck with an unsellable car.
Let's also remember that simply replacing fuel based vehicles with EVs is not enough. We need to reduce the absolute number of private vehicles by building better public transport infrastructure.