NEW DELHI, Dec. 11 -- The top air-quality regulator for the national capital region has set up a 15-member expert committee to draw up a strategy for speeding up the electric-vehicle (EV) transition in Delhi and NCR. This is its most significant move on clean mobility since a May advisory equating hybrids with EVs triggered objections from Tata Motors and Mahindra.

The new panel, constituted by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), comes as Delhi finalizes its electric-vehicle policy and after weeks of deteriorating air quality in the region. With EV and hybrid incentives under active review and the auto industry sharply divided on the two technologies, the committee's recommendations are now poised to shape the next phase of...