MoRTH Launches ‘Go Electric’ Campaign To Promote E-Mobility & E-Cooking 

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today launched the ‘Go Electric’ campaign of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) to promote and spread awareness on electric mobility, EV charging infrastructure, and clean and safe electric cooking in India. 

Minister for Road Transport & Highways and the Minister of Micro (MoRTH), Nitin Gadkari, the Minister of Power and New Renewable Energy, R.K. Singh, Amitabh Kant, the CEO of NITI Aayog, and other dignitaries were at the launch.

Prominently, this campaign has been launched with an aim to push the country towards 100 percent e-mobility and clean and safe e-cooking. The core heart of this campaign has been focused on shifting India’s dependency on fossil fuel import towards Aatma Nirbhar Bharat in the sector of transport and cooking via the use of indigenous electric fuel. 

All of these steps will finally lead India towards a clean ecosystem and to defeat climate changes. And, that is the only motive behind the ‘Go Electric’ campaign of BEE. At the launch event, an exhibition was organized by the industry players displaying different electric vehicles including e-buses, e-cars, 3-wheelers, and 2-wheelers apart from available charging options such as Fast Chargers and Slow Chargers. 

Calling the ‘Go Electric’ campaign the ‘Need of the Hour’, the CEO of NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant said, “This is the need of the hour because the world is under the destruction which it has never seen before.” He emphasized the cost reduction of the EV batteries, and said, “The cost of a battery, in the last ten years has fallen from about USD 11 hundred per kWh to about USD 137 per kWh. It is time, this would come down to USD 100 per kWh, and at that time, the initial cost of owning EVs will be cheaper than combustion vehicles.” 

“In India, 80 percent of the total EV manufacturing constitutes electric two-wheelers (E2Ws)and three-wheelers (E3Ws) only, unlike the western world. And in the next four years, this country should go 100 percent electric on two and three-wheelers. If we do so, we will become the ‘Global Leaders’ in E2Ws and E3Ws in the world, and we will be exporting millions of EVs to other countries.” 

Kant stressed on the different chemical types of batteries for EVs and said India should manufacture EV batteries indigenously. Apart from electric fuel for vehicles, Kant spoke about Hydrogen fuel for heavy vehicles, “For heavy vehicles like buses, the ideal solution is Green Hydrogen. MNRE can produce the green hydrogen at cheap costs possible in India because of low solar prices.” 

“Green Hydrogen is the future fuel for long-term transportation for buses and trucks,” he added. 

Later the Director General of BEE, Abhay Bhakre explained the roadmap of the campaign that how this will electrify and green our economy. He spoke about the economic shift from fossil fuel to non-fossil fuel-based which can be called Energy Transition. 

Minister of MNRE, R.K. Singh expressed how the country needs a transformation. “One transformation which is necessary for our country is to reduce dependence on other countries for energy requirements,” he said. 

“Currently, we are using 94 million tonnes of oil and petroleum products for transportation only. By 2030, it will double if we go along the same trajectory as we are going presently, our oil imports will double,” Singh expressed his concerns. 

He addressed how shifting from fossil fuel usage towards electrification will help in saving money as well as our environment. Additionally, the minister showed his concern about climate change and expressed confidence that this campaign would go a long way in fulfilling the main objective of Energy Transition to move ahead on the path of a Low Carbon economy, thereby saving our Country and the Planet from the adverse impact of Climate Change. Also, Singh emphasized the use of Clean and Safe Electric Cooking and urged the citizens to adopt Electric Cooking which is safe and 15 percent cheaper than conventional cooking fuel. 

The Union Minister of MoRTH, Nitin Gadkari Gadkari while launching the nationwide campaign said “that electric fuel is a major alternative for fossil fuels which have an import bill of Rs. 8 lakh Crore. When compared to conventional fuels the electric fuel has low cost, reduced emissions and it is also indigenous.” 

Furthermore, he requested R. K. Singh to encourage value addition to Carbon Dioxide which is released from thermal power plants. He also mentioned the opportunities and potential of electric cooking in India. He observed that electrification of public transport is not only economical but also eco-friendly. While speaking about diversification of agriculture towards the energy and power sector the Transport Minister said that the Ministry of Power should promote the generation of green power from agriculture waste and biomass which can also benefit the farmers across the country.