Will work relentlessly to make India green mobility destination, says Kant

The government will relentlessly push for adoption of green mobility in India through all the policy levers available with it, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI) event here, he stated that the government is taking several policy measures to encourage a shift towards electric mobility in the country.

"We have had a policy framework where the tax on electric vehicles is just 5 per cent as compared to 48 per cent on hybrids which we intend to continue over a long period of time," Kant stated.

He noted that the government is pushing for battery manufacturing in a very big way in India.

"Our policy is that we push for more and more electrification in mobility through all the policy levers available including CAFE norms. So we will relentlessly push for India becoming a green mobility destination," Kant said.

He noted that if the country doesn't make the shift it would miss out on the opportunity to become a leader in EV manufacturing. Kant noted that following the tender for about 6,000 electric buses for seven cities, new bigger tenders would roll out in future.

"The next tender we are doing is for 10,000 buses and the third tender would be for 50,000 buses, so the size  and scale would help in bringing down the prices of electric buses in a big way," he said.

MBRDI on Tuesday announced the expansion of Sustainability Garage  A Mercedes-Benz initiative, a unique platform for diverse stakeholder groups to collaborate and champion sustainability goals.

Designed to enable research, create interactive spaces for immersive engagement, and promote social innovation projects in climate, environment, and sustainable mobility, the initiative will now include two new Centres of Excellence based out of Hyderabad and New Delhi.

"The new Sustainability Garage projects will play a vital role in furthering innovation from India to meet some of the most pressing global challenges," MBRDI Managing Director and CEO Manu Saale said.

Mercedes-Benz Group AG Member of the Board of Management for Integrity, Governance & Sustainability Renata Jungo Brungger said the company wants to make a positive contribution to society that goes beyond its core business activities.