The government is planning to set up electric vehicle charging kiosks at 69,000 petrol pumps in the country, said Nitin Gadkari. 

 

Addressing a virtual conference ‘9th Edition of Auto Serve 2020 Electric Mobility Conference 2020', Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways & MSME said "The government is trying to create an ecosystem to accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles in the country." 

 

Gadkari asked the auto industry to come together to work jointly towards achieving a broader national agenda of reducing pollution.

 

He elaborated a number of steps that the government has taken to promote electric vehicles which include reduction in GST to 5%, allowing delinking of battery cost of 2-3 wheelers from vehicle cost as it accounts for nearly 30% of the cost etc. 

 

Battery charging ecosystem is very important, as such he said the government is planning to set up at least one electric vehicle charging kiosk at around 69,000 petrol pumps across the country to induce people to go for electric mobility.

 

Gadkari also said, “Government is also working towards making India a global automobile manufacturing hub in the next five years.’

 

This, he felt, is possible as our auto industry has made significant strides in terms of development of different designs and models, robust R&D, huge market, stable government framework and bright & young engineering minds. 

 

Considering the huge potential of the sector, the government has earmarked over Rs. 51,000 crore for this sector under Production Linked Incentive (PLI), the highest amongst the 10 champion sectors. He also stated that there is a huge requirement of about 25 million skilled jobs in the automobile sector in near future. 

 

Gadkari further called upon the automobile industry to push for manufacturing flex engines which have versatility to use petrol or Ethanol/CNG as fuels. 

 

He stressed that the Indian auto industry needs to follow the example of Brazil and US Auto sectors in this regard. He exuded confidence that our industry would utilise the opportunity being thrown up by the alternative and less polluting fuels like CNG, hydrogen and electricity.

 

Gadkari also said that the government is working towards making e-Highway on Delhi and Mumbai Expressway. He added that the auto sector should look at making different variants including double decker buses to cater to the market needs.