PANAJI
Electric vehicles, the next big disruption in the automobile industry, had ministers and officials of various State governments and the Centre brainstorming on how the country can cash-in at a roundtable event to promote electric mobility nation-wide.
At the event held in Goa, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant officially launched the State's Electric mobility policy aimed at incentivising consumers to switch to buying electric vehicles and also manufacturers.
Complete waiver of road tax for the first five years is the biggest incentive of the Goa policy and Sawant said, the government will subsidise and give impetus to creating infrastructure such as setting up charging stations across the State.
Niti Ayog CEO, Amitabh Kant, meanwhile, underscored the urgent need for India to "seize the market" and not repeat the "missed the bus" story where India lagged behind in cashing in on the mobile phones and solar energy sectors on a global scale.
"We must make India the centre of manufacturing both for the Indian market and for the rest of the world. And that is dependent on all of you and makes the states of India the centre of manufacturing," Kant said addressing ministers and officials of States at the roundtable.
He also made the case for a rapid switch to going digital and green saying only countries that adopt the green and digital mode will attract investment in the future.
He also forecast that by 2025, two and three-wheeler vehicles that use combustion will no longer exist on the roads.
At the round-table, ministers and officials of various States discussed the pros and cons of promoting electric mobility and also compared their individual e-vehicle policies.
Driven by the Ministry for Heavy Industries, the Centre has earmarked an outlay of Rs 53,000 crore to execute three major schemes -- adoption and manufacturing of electric vehicles, national programme on advanced chemistry cell and productivity-linked incentives for manufacturing electric automobiles and components.
The round table in Goa is an attempt to bring together stakeholders from the Central and State governments, leaders of auto original equipment manufacturer (OEMs), auto component manufacturers, battery makers, start-ups and domain technical experts.
At the event held at a resort in Canacona, 10 electric buses were flagged off and added to the fleet of the State-owned public transport corporation KTC.
