New Delhi, 22 May (IANS). The Ministry of Heavy Industries said on Thursday that under the current phase of the PM e-Drive Scheme, Bangalore will be given about 4,500, Hyderabad 2,000, Delhi 2,800, Ahmedabad 1,000 and Surat will be given 600 electric buses.
Union Heavy Industries Minister H.D. The decision was taken in a meeting held on the rollout of electric buses under the chairmanship of Kumaraswamy.
An official statement released after the meeting said, “The meeting focuses on Telangana, Karnataka, Delhi and Gujarat states. The decision is a strong step towards advancing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approach for clean and inclusive urban transport solutions across India.”
Kumaraswamy said, “India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now taking bold steps towards sustainable urban dynamics. From Bengaluru to Delhi, the city is actively adopting electric buses to make public transport clean, smart and more efficient.”
The Union Minister said, “We are not only allocating electric buses, but we are shaping the future of India’s transport system with innovation and environment awareness.”
“With a strong coordination between the Center and the states like Telangana, Karnataka, Delhi and Gujarat, we are firm to fulfill the PM e-Drive Promise,” he said.
The target of PM e-Drive initiative is to land 14,028 electric buses on the road with a total financial outlay of Rs 10,900 crore in a period of two years from April 2024 to March 2026.
The Union Minister said that the scheme is one of the largest national efforts in the world to electrify public transport on a large scale and the government is committed to timely delivery, operational readiness and strategic partnership with all participating states. The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) has also introduced e-vouchers for EV buyers to avail demand incentives under the scheme.
Under the PM E-Drive scheme, an allocation of Rs 500-500 crore has also been made for the deployment of e-ambulance and e-trucks. This is the new initiative of the Center to promote the use of e-members for comfortable transport of patients.
Similarly, e-trucks have also been introduced under the scheme as trucks are the major contributors in air pollution. It has been made mandatory to submit scraping certificate from the vehicle scrapping Center (RVSF) approved by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) to avail subsidy on e-trunk.
-IANS
ABS/GKT
