Karnataka to speed up shift to electric vehicles to tackle energy costs
- Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka CN Ashwath Narayan emphasised the need to shift to electric mode for last mile delivery, logistics and public transport.
As one of the key hubs in India for automobile manufacturing, Karnataka has stepped up its efforts to increase speed to adopt electric mobility faster than ever before. The state government insists on EV shift to that Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwatha Narayana thinks has become necessary due to increase in energy costs to run vehicles on conventional internal combustion engines.
Karnataka is now home to US electric car manufacturer Tesla, which had recently registered itself as Tesla India Motors and Energy Pvt Ltd with RoC Bangalore earlier this year. In February, Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa had confirmed that Tesla will set up its first manufacturing facility in the state.
Speaking at a virtual conference organised by the World Economic Forum called the “Global Technology Governance Summit 2021”, Narayana said, “The Government of Karnataka has a big focus towards last-mile delivery/logistics/commute space and EV (electric vehicle) adoption; Mobile internet, automation, the internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, advanced genomics, renewable energy are some areas of innovation and technology that need to be adopted to bring about changes in ways of traditional systems of functioning.”
Narayana also pointed out that a faster shift towards electric mobility has become a need due to the fast depletion of fossil fuels, rising energy costs, impact of rising fuel prices on transportation and consequently on the environment. According to the deputy chief minister, early adopters of electric vehicles have succeeded in showing that EVs can be practical, sustainable, safe, and affordable.
The minister also said that being a growing economy, India needs to invest in robust logistics infrastructure and efficient supply chains. He said that to support the vision of ‘Make in India’, logistics and supply chain can be improved and made more efficient.
To help in this effort, Karnataka plans to set up at least two lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in the state. Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwatha Narayana had earlier announced this move saying it is aimed to help promote electric vehicles and reduce air pollution. Most of the electric cars manufactured across the world runs on lithium-ion batteries. These plants will not only be able to manufacture batteries for EVs made in India, but also export to other countries.
Source : hindustantimes
