Maharashtra, US-India panel announce 3 projects

The Maharashtra government and a US-India panel have announced three new projects in the state, an official said here on Monday.

The state will sign an agreement with the Network for Global Innovation (NGIN) to develop a clean tech incubator ecosystem in Maharashtra to accelerate adoption of sustainable technologies and encourage trade and investment in these sectors.

Along with the US-India State and Urban Initiative, it will collaborate on the development and implementation of a 'High Performance Innovation Ecosystem' including planning, funding, build-out and ongoing operations, with plans to invite a state-based nominee organisation to become a member of the NGIN.

The Georgia Institute of Technology will launch a new pilot research project to understand the consumer dynamics and responsiveness to adoption of new technologies in the state electricity sector.

The project, "The Impact of Consumer Behaviour on Efficiency and Sustainability in India's Power Sector", will be led by Georgia Tech's assistant professor Anjali Thomas Bohlken and associate professor Usha Nair-Reichert, with support from the Strategic Energy Initiative.

Finally, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will host an Urban Mobility Lab in August as part of the Lighthouse City initiative launched after a competition last year, jointly with NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute, Colorado.

The Urban Mobility Lab will advance the design, integration and implementation of new solutions for complex transportation challenges and how these ideas can be replicated and scaled.

The goal would be to upgrade transportation services to cater to the needs of rapidly growing cities, with operational efficiency, and simultaneous reduction of pollution, congestion and petroleum demands.

The announcements were made during Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' visit to Washington D.C. last week at a public forum co-hosted by CSIS Wadhwani Chair and India Initiative at Georgetown University, which he addressed.

Funded by the Department of State, the US-India State and Urban Initiative promotes energy security and energy sector reform through direct engagement between Washington and Indian sub-national entities.

It builds productive partnerships that can help India achieve its energy goals; and establish close, sustainable working relationships among Indian sub-national officials with their US counterparts and other civil society organisations working in the areas of governance and energy, besides roping in the private sector.

--IANS

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