India approves $9.4 billion plan to electrify public transport
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Electric vehicle sales in India more than doubled in 2022 to 1.4 million, driven by subsidies for buyers and rising fuel costs.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW DELHI – India has approved an investment of 576.13 billion rupees (S$9.4 billion) for green public transportation as it seeks to curb emissions from vehicles and meet swelling demand in its cities.
The investment will be made to deploy 10,000 electric buses across cities, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said on Wednesday. “There is a lack of public transport, especially buses, in cities,” he said, after a meeting of the federal Cabinet. “This move will give a boost to electric mobility.”
The federal government will contribute 200 billion rupees to the plan that will involve participation from private firms, Mr Thakur told reporters. Cities with a population between 300,000 and four million will compete for the aid, he said.
Shares of electric bus makers Olectra Greentech and JBM Auto rallied on the announcement.
The decision follows a meeting between United States climate envoy John Kerry and India’s Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey in July, when they discussed US financial support to speed up deployment of 10,000 electric buses in India.
Electric vehicle sales in India more than doubled in 2022 to 1.4 million, driven by subsidies for buyers and rising fuel costs, according to BloombergNEF. Two- and three-wheeler vehicles comprised most of the sales, with passenger cars accounting for a tiny fraction. Annual sales are expected to reach 10 million units by the end of the decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the Group of 20 energy ministers’ meet in July.
Mr Thakur said that though the electric buses will mostly be profitable, the government will provide subsidies to make operations viable.
A report commissioned by the federal Oil Ministry earlier in 2023 indicated that cities should refrain from adding diesel buses to help decarbonise urban mobility. The study pointed out that India, which had 1.9 million buses as in 2019, needs to add three million more to meet public transport demand. BLOOMBERG
