Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan said on Monday that the state government will lay down regulations to make charging points for electric vehicles (EV) mandatory in high-rise buildings, malls, metro stations, IT parks and apartment flats.
Speaking on the topic of ‘Future of Sustainable Mobility’ at the Harvard-India conference , the Deputy CM also stated that the government is seeking to replace 50 per cent of all its vehicles with EVs in the next two to three years, adding that the measure is a move to encourage e-mobility.
According to Deputy CM Narayan, the goal is to set up fast chargers along few important highways in the state such as the Bengaluru-Chennai highway and the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway in order to establish world-class Karnataka Electric Mobility Research and Innovation Centre.
“Lack of infrastructure for charging EVs still remain a major concern and the State is working towards improving the situation”, he said.
The government has also assessed the situation and has received feedback from citizens regarding discount charging at pubic places, dedicated parking for e-cabs, and mandating EV charging facilities in building by-laws to improve the infrastructure in the state, he said.
Noting that EVs can deliver practicality, sustainability, safety and affordability, Narayan said that electricity demand from EVs could greatly improve the utilisation factor of underutilised power plants.
The Deputy CM said that Karnataka is looking forward to participate in partnerships and strategies with the United States of America in the e-mobility sector. Countries like Norway, the US and China could be examples for India in developing the e-mobility ecosystem in Karnataka, he said.
“The state has been able to garner a share of over 30 per cent market size and is planning its policy framework to garner 50 per cent market share of the digital engineering innovation economy segments like clean tech, EV, aerospace, med tech and construction among others offer significant opportunities for growth”, he said.
The Central government has been supporting electric mobility efforts through funding research, providing a conducive platform to design, develop and demonstrate EV projects.
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