“Synergy and Cooperation instead of politics and blame game over pollution should be the way forward”: Shri Prakash Javadekar

The Electric-vehicles are supplied by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of state-owned NTPC Limited, Power Finance Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation and POWERGRID, under the Government of India.

With this partnership, the Government of India continues to be an active participant in India's quest for reduced emissions & vehicular electrification. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Javadekar stated the benefits of using e-vehicles, “E-cars are an attractive, sustainable and profitable solution to mitigate climate change and the risk of public health caused by vehicular emission.”

Elaborating about the conscious efforts being made by the Government of India in enabling e-mobility in the country, the Minister said “The Government is promoting e-mobility by taking a lead in changing the fleet of the existing petrol and diesel cars used for official purposes with electric cars. The current 5 lakh vehicles that are used by the government and its agencies across the country will be replaced by e-vehicles in a phased manner”. It is expected that the positive outcome of replacing existing petrol and diesel cars by e-vehicles will be:

• Fuel savings of litres per annum (in million)             : 832

• Reduction in carbon dioxide, CO2 per annum (in million tonnes)      :2.23

Expressing his displeasure over recent politics and blame game done over the issue of pollution in Delhi, the Minister stated that it is of utmost importance that one must unite and fight against pollution, “The Central Government has shown the way in making all five state governments sit together and find solutions towards curbing air pollution”.  Shri Javadekar appealed for synergy and cooperation in dealing with pollution and said it should be the way forward, instead of resorting to politics and blame game.

Highlighting the role of Central Government towards the problem of air pollution in Delhi, the Minister said that earlier both Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways were only an issue of discussion, but the current Government implemented and built the expressways in five years and today around 60,000 vehicles have been diverted away from national capital, which has led to substantial reduction in pollution.

Expressing discontent over the inactive approach of Delhi Government, Shri Javadekar said that around 3500 crore rupees which were to be given by the state government for Eastern Peripheral Expressway and bypass road was not released and only after the Supreme Court intervened an amount of 1000 crore rupees was sanctioned.

The Minister further expressed that by opting for e-vehicles, which are pollution free and has no particulate matter, it is a step in the right direction towards combating air pollution. Shri Javadekar also expressed his commitment to use e-vehicles as part of his daily routine.

According to a report by NITI Aayog, India can reduce energy demand by 64% and carbon emissions by 37% with the help of connected, shared and electric passenger mobility across the country by 2030.

EESL has aggregated demand by procuring electric vehicles in bulk to get economies of scale. These electric vehicles are being provided to Government entities by EESL on lease/outright purchase basis to replace the existing petrol and diesel vehicles taken on lease by various Government organizations.

The cars on lease are intended to replace the present leased vehicles in various organizations and EESL will take 90% of the present lease rent that the organizations are paying to their vendors to provide e-vehicles, thereby saving the costs as well. The lease rental will be between 5-6 years during which the vehicles will be maintained by EESL.

EESL has completed procurement of 10,000 e-cars. These e-cars are being provided to Government entities on lease/outright purchase basis. Till date, 1,510 e-cars have been deployed/under registration. For charging e-cars, 300 AC & 170 DC chargers have also been commissioned. EESL has signed MoU with various PSUs, Government departments, Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana.

EESL has also started installation of Public Charging Stations from New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area to promote Electric vehicles. Till date, 65 nos. of Public Charging Stations (PCS) complying with DC-001 (15kW) have been commissioned in the NDMC area. EESL has signed MoU with Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), Noida Authority, Chennai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (CMRCL), Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation (JMRCL), Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration (CDMA) for development of Public Charging Stations (PCS) in their respective areas.

It is noteworthy to mention that the Government of India also launched the National E-Mobility Programme on March 7th, 2018.

The objectives of the programme is to provide an impetus for Indian vehicle manufacturers, charging infrastructure companies, fleet operators, service providers, etc. to gain efficiencies of scale and drive down costs, create local manufacturing facilities, grow technical competencies for the long-term growth of the electric vehicle (EV) industry in India and to enable Indian EV manufacturers to emerge as major global players.

• Create a sustainable demand for e-vehicles to ensure manufacturing in India thereby promoting Make-In-India

• Promote Lithium-Ion Battery manufacturing in India to enable lower cost of ownership and operations of e-vehicles as batteries account for 50-60% of cost of e-vehicles

• Reduce dependence on oil imports and promote power capacity addition in India thereby enhancing energy security of the country

• Reduce GHG emissions from the transport sector.