Maharashtra aims to add 50,000 electric buses in three years, says Fadnavis in Pune

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced in Pune that Maharashtra aims to bring 50,000 electric buses to the state in the next three years. He said the state government would take responsibility for setting up the charging infrastructure required for this. According to Fadnavis, charging facilities will be provided wherever needed across the state, including on highways.

Fadnavis was speaking at the inauguration of six new facilities created on the initiative of Sudhir Mehta, Managing Director of Pinnacle Industries. Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and H. D. Kumaraswamy, BJP national general secretary Santosh Ji, Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, Union Minister of State Murlidhar Mohol, Force Motors chairman Abhay Firodia, Sudhir Mehta and Sunanda Mehta were among the dignitaries present.

The Chief Minister said large-scale investment is coming to Maharashtra to promote the electric vehicle industry. According to him, Pune is becoming an important centre for manufacturing electric vehicles.

Fadnavis said, "The work Sudhir Mehta has done in the field of mobility is a new revolution. Inaugurating six facilities at one time is a first-time experience for me too." He said that, while moving towards a Viksit Bharat, it is essential to give priority to clean and green mobility. He said vehicles account for a large share of pollution in cities, so the country will have to cut its dependence on conventional fuels and move towards electric vehicles and alternative fuels.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that to make India self-reliant in electric vehicles, it is essential to increase production in the country. According to Gadkari, there will be big demand for electric trucks and buses in the coming years. He said that even if capacity to build not three thousand but at least one lakh trucks and buses were created, the country's own demand would still not be met.

Praising the new venture in the electric vehicle sector started on Sudhir Mehta's initiative, Gadkari said India's economy is the fastest-growing in the world. According to him, the automobile industry, described as the backbone of Indian industry, has grown from Rs 15 lakh crore to Rs 22 lakh crore. Gadkari said India has overtaken Japan to rank third in the global automobile industry. He said the United States is first with an industry worth Rs 79 lakh crore and China second at Rs 49 lakh crore. Gadkari said it is his goal to take India to the first position in the world in this sector.

On trucks, Gadkari said the battery in an electric truck weighs about five tonnes. He has therefore suggested to officials that, for a truck with a 60-tonne capacity, the load-carrying capacity be raised by five tonnes to account for the battery weight. According to Gadkari, this will benefit truck makers and transporters.