Road transport minister advocates adoption of EVs

Minister of Road Transport Shri Nitin Gadkari, has suggested a move to cleaner automobiles – electric vehicles – and called for a wider consultation of stakeholders to facilitate this change. This move is aimed at tackling the double whammy of mounting pollution and the governments heavy import bill of oil.

A steering committee headed by Niti Aayog’s chief executive, Amitabh Kant, has framed a road map for the smooth introduction of electric vehicles in a phased manner in the country. It has also recommended measures for setting up of battery manufacturing factories to bring down the costs of EVs. This move has encouraged optimistic car manufacturers like Nissan, Kia Motors and Hyundai to announce plans to launch electric cars in India this year.