The Narendra Modi government on Saturday said the work is underway to set up electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at 30 percent of the fuel pumps across the country.
In an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18, the union heavy industries minister Mahendra Nath Pandey said EV chargers will be installed at 22,000 fuel stations in the country and priority would be to set up charging stations for electric vehicles at express highways, state highways and metro cities.
He said Pune's Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) is working on developing fast chargers for e-vehicles, "ARAI has been directed to work on it. In fact, they have developed a prototype of a fast charger and the product is expected to be ready by December 2022."
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The minister also said, "It's difficult to give a timeline for transition to electric vehicles, but we hope to meet India's goal on reducing carbon intensity by 2030."
Talking about Tesla's entry to India, Pandey welcomed the US firm to the country but asked all companies to contribute to India's manufacturing prowess.
However, heavy industries minister denied any plan to mandate EVs in any segment or set thresholds after Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant
batted for EVs and said the business model for combustion vehicles will not work beyond 2025.
He said market forces will determine EV adoption, "The government will only promote EV and green mobility. We don't want to bring any law to ban any technology."
According to the government, the ministry of power had sanctioned 2,877 electric vehicle charging stations in 68 cities across 25 states/UTs and 1,576 charging stations across nine expressways and 16 highways under Phase II of the FAME India Scheme.
(Edited by : Jomy Jos Pullokaran)
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