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India will stick to plan of having 100% electric mobility by 2030: Nitin Gadkari

India will stick to its plan of having 100% electric mobility by 2030, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said. Gadkari said he cleared the electric vehicle policy on Wednesday.  “Now NITI Aayog will send it to the cabinet in a couple of weeks (for its approval)," he added.

The official year for going all electric — which means all vehicles sold from then will be electric — remains 2030, the minister said. However, a top official said the government was aiming to advance the target.  The government wants automakers to move to 100% manufacturing of electric vehicles for which it is launching a dedicated policy. The auto industry had also demanded such a policy. The NITI Aayog has prepared the document. 

The auto industry had cited high cost of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles as one of the major challenges. But the minister said the prices were coming down and India would stick to its plan.

Another challenge is the lack of infrastructure, especially battery charging stations, to support electric vehicles. The new policy will cover these issues. China and the UK are already working on similar policies to go all-electric.