50 per cent of all govt vehicles to turn EVs: Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan

Bengaluru: "With a view of encouraging e-mobility, the Government of Karnataka aims to replace 50 per cent of all government vehicles with electric vehicles (EVs) in the coming 2-3 years," Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayana, who is also the minister of IT/BT and S&T, said on Monday.

He expressed this as a panelist on the topic, "future of sustainable mobility", which was held as a part of the 'Harward-India Conference', and informed that Karnataka was looking forward to partnerships and concrete strategies with the USA in the e-mobility sector.

Regulatory measures will be taken to make setting up of charging infrastructure in high-rise buildings, metro stations, malls, IT parks, and apartments. The goal is also to set up fast chargers along few important highways in the state (e.g. Bengaluru-Chennai, Bengaluru- Myrsuru) and to establish the world-class Karnataka Electric Mobility Research & Innovation Center, he explained.

Narayana said, "lack of charging infrastructure still remains as a major concern and the state is working towards improving the situation. The government also has assessed the situation and has received feedback from citizens regarding discounted charging at public places, dedicated parking for e-cabs, and mandating EV charging facility in building bye-laws to improve the EV infra in the state."

"Electric vehicles can deliver the practicality, sustainability, safety, and affordability characteristics expected from them, India is a power surplus country and is currently witnessing lower plant load factors due to minor capacity utilization. As per the estimates, demand from electric vehicles (EV) could greatly improve the utilization factor of underutilized power plants" he said.

He opined that the government of India has been supporting the electric mobility efforts in the country through funding research, providing a conducive platform for design, development, and demonstration of EV projects, Countries like Norway, the USA and China could become examples for India in developing the e-mobility ecosystem in Karnataka.

"The state has been able to garner a share of over 30 per cent market size and is planning its policy framework to garner a 50 per cent market share of the Digital Engineering Innovation Economy segments like Clean Tech, Electric Vehicle, Aerospace, Med Tech, Construction, etc offer significant opportunities for growth," the minister added.