The Union Road Transport and Highways Minister of India, Nitin Gadkari has said that his ministry is in talks with a foreign company to construct an electric highway from Delhi to Jaipur.
If this goes as per plan, India’s renewable energy adoption could see a significant boost.
While reviewing the progress of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway (DME) at Dausa, in Rajasthan, Gadkari said like electric railway engines, buses and trucks will also be powered by electricity, added an ET Government report.
“It is my dream to build an electric highway from Delhi to Jaipur. It is still a proposed project. We are in discussion with a foreign company,” he said. Gadkari said as a transport minister, he has taken a resolution to bring an end to use of petrol and diesel in the country.
Gadkari also reviewed the progress of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, which is expected to cut short the commute time between the national capital and the financial hub from nearly 24 hours to 12 hours.
The eight-lane expressway will cover Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
Renewable Energy push
India has already achieved emission reduction of 28 per cent over 2005 levels, against a target of 35 per cent by 2030 which was committed in its NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions).
This makes India among one of the few countries globally which have kept to its Paris Climate Change (COP21) commitments along with an exponential increase in renewable energy capacity.
These developments come in the wake of India having set aggressive targets of reducing carbon emissions.
Efforts are being taken to increase the adoption of electric vehicles. Multi EV retail platform BLive and Bengaluru-based Ather Energy announced a strategic partnership to drive the adoption of electric vehicles at tourist destinations in the country.
EV charging stations are also coming up.
Jio-bp, the fuels and mobility joint venture between Reliance Industries Limited and bp, announced a partnership with BluSmart, India’s first and largest all-electric, ride-hailing platform to set up a network of commercial large scale EV charging stations.
According to media reports, as part of the partnership, Jio-bp will set up these stations for passenger electric vehicles and fleets across the country.
