Government’s Push For EVs Will Help In Reducing Imports, Pollution: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that the government’s push for electric vehicles will help in cutting imports as well as tackling the pollution problem, reports Economic Times.

“The country is going to adopt EVs in the natural course - be it electric bikes, electric rickshaws, electric cars, trucks or buses and even electric highways. We are working on that front. This will help us to reduce imports and tackle the pollution problem,” said Gadkari in an interview with ET.

The minster informed that work is going on Rs 50,000 crore worth of projects related to the electric vehicles in Delhi.

On the question of the problems that EV roll-out could face due to the absence of charging infrastructure and deficiency in raw materials for EV batteries, Gadkari said, “I do not see any deficiency as such. Everything is an interplay of demand and supply. When something gets into use, options immediately emerge via innovations, research and investments,”

“When I was talking about electric buses, people were laughing at me. Now hundreds of electric buses are plying in so many cities. There are 150 electric buses in Pune. There are a thousand buses in Nagpur. In Nagpur, biowaste is being converted to CNG to fuel buses,” the minister added.