Centres asks all govt offices, PSUs in NCR to switch to electric vehicles

Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, a joint venture of PSUs of power ministry, has placed an order for 10,000 electric vehicles

All the central government departments and PSUs located in NCR have been asked to switch to e-vehicles for local travels by the power ministry, as India plans to have 30 per cent of the total vehicle fleet running on batteries by 2030.

The centre has decided to push electrical mobility in a big way as it is environment-friendly and will also reduce the dependence of oil imports, said a letter written by Power Minister R K Singh to different ministries.

The government has decided that by 2030, 30 per cent of the total vehicle fleet in the country should be electrical.

As per the letter, "in the first phase, it is proposed that all ministries/departments of Government of India and their attached/subordinate offices/PSUs located in the NCR, may switch over to electricity mobility for local use i.e for the vehicles which will run within NCR".

Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs of power ministry, has placed an order for 10,000 electric vehicles.

Charging facilities for e-vehicles are also being set up at various locations, the letter said.

"It is requested that your ministry, attached/subordinate offices/PSUs may assess their requirements and communicate the same to EESL," it added.

Ministries have been given an option to either purchase the vehicle at the price discovered by the EESL or hire them to form it.

As per the power ministry, electric cars run for 130 km on a single charge and the cost of operations is "one-third" that of a petrol car.

More ever e-vehicles will also help in reducing air pollution, which has become a big problem in the NCR.