No need to ban petrol, diesel vehicles; EVs picking up: Gadkari

Allaying fears of automobile industry, Union Ro Transport Minister Nitin Gkari on Monday said re is no need to ban petrol and diesel vehicles as electric mobility has picked up momentum on its own and all buses would be electric in two years.

Earlier, government think-tank Niti Aayog h reportedly proposed that after 2030, only electric vehicles (EVs) should be sold in India. Later, Union ministers, including Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Prhan, tried to allay fear of automobile manufactures in country by denying that.

A panel heed by Niti Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant h earlier suggested that only EVs (three-wheelers and two-wheelers) with an engine capacity of up to 150cc should be sold from 2025 onwards.

"I always talk about EVs such as cars, bikes, and buses. Now, it has started naturally. re is no need to make it mandatory. re is not need to ban petrol and diesel vehicles. In next two years, all buses would be electric and run on bio-ethanol and CNG (compressed natural gas)," Gkari said while speaking at a National Conclave on Energy Efficiency in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in New Delhi.

Taking about cost-benefit, minister said, "If we run vehicles on electricity, it would be like cost of Rs 15 per litre of diesel... When I told industry in a meeting that I would prohibit smoke-emission machines in country, all were afraid... Now, we have plastic cylinders available from Germany which can save 50 per cent cost on LNG (liquefied natural gas) and 40 per cent on CNG."

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He also spoke about converting farm stubble left after harvest into clean fuels for generating electricity and running vehicles which can increase farmers' income manyfold.

Currently, farmers burn stubble that causes air and soil pollution. government through its firms such as power giant NTPC has started procuring stubble pellets for using those as fuel in coal-fired plants.

Talking about MSMEs, Gkari said, "We have a problem of (higher) capital cost. interest cost (on borrowing) is two-three per cent across world. In few countries, it is just one per cent. borrowing cost for MSMEs in our country is 11, 12, or 13 per cent and sometimes up to 14 per cent. We need to reduce capital cost."

minister ded that we have inked agreement with World Bank, Asian Development Bank and KfW to facilitate low-cost line of credit for MSMEs.

He also said, "If our logistics cost comes down, our exports could be one and a half times (from now). re is also a need to keep a tab on power tariff (especially to promote MSME). re is issue with labour cost also. We need to reduce various cost to make our exports competitive."

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About energy efficiency, he said, "We also need to fix norms for energy efficiency of machines. We should not give ISI (Bureau of Indian Standard) mark to those machines that are inefficient. This is required to improve our competence."

Talking at event, Power Minister R K Singh said new power tariff policy has been sent for Union Cabinet approval which would settle issue related to cross-subsidy, tariff surcharge and unscheduled lo shedding.

minister also said new policy provides for making it mandatory to procure power from waste-to-energy projects and classified it as "must-run" plants like we have done for renewable energy such as solar and wind power.

Meanwhile, at event, ministers also released energy conservation guidelines for MSMEs and launched knowledge management portal 'SIDHIEE' under Bureau of Energy Efficiency's programme for MSMEs. portal will provide information, including tutorial videos for MSMEs to opt energy-efficient technologies.

During inaugural session, a memorandum of understanding was also signed between development commissioner of MSME and director-general of Bureau of Energy Efficiency to develop a long-term ro map for enhancing energy efficiency and security for MSME sector through a focused intervention. 

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