Chandigarh, Aug. 3 -- In a move aimed at accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), the UT administration has decided to hike subsidies on electric two-wheelers and four-wheelers with special focus on women buyers, who will be eligible to receive incentives up to Rs.37,500. For electric two-wheelers, the subsidy has been doubled from Rs.5,000 to Rs.10,000 per kWh while for electric bicycles, it has been raised from Rs.4,000 to Rs.6,000. Women buyers can receive a subsidy of Rs.12,500 per kWh, capped at Rs.37,500 per vehicle. The decisions were taken during the fourth review meeting of the EV Policy, chaired by chief secretary Rajiv Verma. In view of the growing interest in EVs among motorists, it was also decided to increase the subsidy cap on electric cars purchased for personal use from 2,000 units to 3,500 units. The UT aims to ensure that by 2025-26, 18 out of every 100 new vehicles sold in Chandigarh is electric. It hopes that the upcoming festive season, especially Diwali, when vehicle purchases see a spike, and the revised subsidies may drive it closer to its target. The UT administration had launched its five-year EV policy in 2022 with the aim of gradually phasing out fuel-powered vehicle registrations and discouraging the use of pollutingvehicles. However, on November 23, 2023, following pressure from stakeholders, then UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit had lifted the cap on registration of non-electric vehicles. The EV initiative is part of a broader strategy to make Chandigarh a "Model EV City", and achieve one of the highest zero-emission vehicle adoption rates in India by 2027. As many as 24 EV charging stations-including nine battery swapping stations-have been made fully operational across the city....