Showcasing India’s ambitious e-bus program, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and Association of State Road Transport Undertakings (ASRTU) with CCESL, Ministry of Power and the WRI India hosted a high-level session- Greening India’s Public Mobility: India’s National Electric Bus Program at COP27.
Organized at the India Pavilion, the panel discussion saw participation of the Transport Secretaries of Haryana and Kerala and the Principal Secretary of Government of NCT Delhi besides key industry experts to deliberate on the current scenario of Indian states in their switch to e-mobility, solutions for solving financing needs for this transition and how this could expedite India’s commitments for reduction in carbon emissions and reach towards net zero goal.
Sh. Mahmood Ahmed, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India highlighted that the sales of EVs are seeing a surge in India, while the prices of batteries are seeing a decline, which is a positive sign.
Mahua Acharya MD & CEO, CESL said,” I have no doubt that India is in the lead in this massive endeavour and I remain incredibly grateful to the many state Governments and Central Ministries who have been collaborating with us on this journey. I look forward now to international collaboration.”
Alok Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India in his keynote address said, “One of the key components of achieving energy security would be to switch to e-mobility as this would save valuable resources that go in buying crude oil. An added advantage is the reduction in air pollution, in which India has already made impressive improvements. The Ministry of Power will offer full support in India’s ambitious e-bus program which will see the deployment of 50,000 e-buses. We also plan to offer full subsidy for costs incurred to set up charging infrastructure in bus depots.”
Ashish Kundra, Principal Secretary, Government of NCT Delhi said, “Delhi is glad to be part of India’s story at COP27 around bus electrification program. This is set to be a game changer for achieving carbon emission goals. Delhi has aligned its goals in transport sector to move towards carbon neutrality as part of India’s commitments at international platforms.”