Companies making electric two-wheelers, through their association Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), have taken on the Department of Heavy Industries (DHI), saying they did not get subsidies for even half the mandated 1 million units they manufactured. Subsidies are given under Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles 2 (FAME II). In a petition to the parliamentary standing committee on industry energy and estimates, the SMEV said the department had done an "accounting error" by showing that it (the department) was close to achieving the mandated target by including sales of the EVs that were "not funded" under the scheme.
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday unveiled the prototype of the world's first Bharat Stage (BS)-VI-compliant electrified flex-fuel car, developed by Toyota Kirloskar Motor. The car, which runs on 100 per cent ethanol (E100), is based on the Toyota Innova HyCross. It can cover 40 per cent of its distance on ethanol and the remaining 60 per cent on electric, with the petrol engine shut off.
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
'I think some of us, like Mukesh Ambani, myself and those of us who head industrial units, ought to really focus on what we can really do to make the world a safer place, maybe 50 or 100 years from now.' 'For instance, how can we deal with climate change and global warming, right now?' 'The effects of it may not be felt now; in fact, we may pay a price for it today, but it will help the generations to follow.'
Adani Group on Thursday said it has formed a 50:50 joint venture with Japanese conglomerate Kowa Group for sale of green hydrogen in Japan, Taiwan and Hawaii markets. Billionaire Gautam Adani-led conglomerate is investing up to $50 billion over the next 10 years in setting up a fully integrated green hydrogen ecosystem in India. This includes the production of 1 million tonne of green hydrogen in the initial phase which will be ramped up to 3 million tonne later.
In a step towards diversifying its resource base and securing green energy minerals, India is poised to launch its first-ever offshore mineral auction in the first quarter of 2024, announced Union Minister of Mines Pralhad Joshi during the launch event of the National Geoscience Data Repository portal. The government plans to hold auctions in March, offering 10-15 blocks for bidding. Meanwhile, the ministry of mines is currently developing rules and regulations for offshore mining.
At Prestige Polygon Towers in Chennai's Teynampet, hectic preparations are on for a mega global investors' meet under the aegis of Guidance Tamil Nadu (the state investment promotion agency) scheduled for January 2024. Asked about the key focus areas of the meet, the agency's managing director and chief executive officer, V Vishnu, said the state was betting big on electric mobility. This is no surprise, given that the state has signed electric vehicle (EV)-related memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with several companies in the recent past that may bring in investments worth around Rs 33,000 crore with the potential to create over 43,000 job opportunities.
Despite Ravi Teja's relentless energy, the drama is bogged down by tedious emotional beats, observes Mayur Sanap.
We have the workforce, now we need to ensure that we take full advantage of game-changing technologies and geopolitical openings, suggests Jayant Sinha, chairman, Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance.
Innovation ranging from exterior designs of vehicles to EV charger locks grabbed eyeballs at the expo
After securing a euro 150 million Credit line for solar energy finance from a German financial institution, State Bank of India is in talks with european Investment Bank for about euro 200 million to fund climate finance. Recently the country's largest lender obtained euro 150 million in green funding from German government-owned KFW on soft terms and a long repayment period. SBI will use funds to finance solar energy projects.
'When a Project Director is appointed, the whole organization -- including the Chairman ISRO -- works for his success. It is a lesson that has been of abiding value all through the other projects I have worked on,' recalls the late President, one of the earliest pioneers at ISRO.
A bill to allow the private sector to mine six atomic minerals, including lithium, and deep-seated minerals like gold and silver was approved by the Lok Sabha on Friday.
According to reports, by last year, the company has helped its customers save 15 per cent on costs -- around 5-6 per cent on fuel and 15 per cent on fleet utilisation through digital measures.
The Delhi government's odd-even car rationing scheme to curb air pollution on Tuesday came under scrutiny by the Supreme Court which questioned its effectiveness and termed it "all optics".
Bajaj Auto has virtually closed the gap with Ather Energy in September, notching up 6423 EV registrations compared to 6466 registrations by Ather.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the US is expected to see discussion on India's possible entry into a US-led global alliance on critical minerals, officials told Business Standard. In June last year, the US, the European Union, and other G7 partners launched the Minerals Security Partnership to ensure that China did not further strengthen its grip on supplies of critical minerals the world over. Various ministries, including the Ministry of Finance, have communicated to the Ministry of External Affairs to explore the possibility of India joining the partnership, officials said.
The dealers operating in the space have jumped nearly three times over the past two years.
Indian exporters shipping goods to Israel may face higher insurance premiums and shipping costs due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, according to experts. Israel witnessed a surprise and unprecedented multifront attack by air, land and sea by the Hamas militant group, which rules the Gaza Strip, in its southern parts on Saturday morning. The International trade experts said the conflict may reduce the profits of domestic exporters but will not impact trade volumes unless war escalates.
The officials stated that 'pedestrianisation' could be promoted by declaring the middle and inner circular roads of CP vehicle free by providing effective 'park and ride' services
Mobile phones and TV sets manufactured in India would become cheaper with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing cuts in Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on import of their components but smokers would have to pay more as the government has increased taxes.
The EV industry is at an inflection point and batteries will play a critical role ahead -- batteries and related components typically constitute 35-45 per cent of an EV's costs.
A bomb disposal squad will sanitise the Islamabad Sports Complex every morning, and two escort vehicles will shadow the Indian Davis Cup team during its travel as part of multi-layer security arrangement, which is usually accorded to the Head of State, to ensure the visiting tennis players' safety and security.
India will have 30 per cent of its two-wheeler industry turning electric by 2030 as new manufacturers lead the shift, said a report on Monday. Passenger vehicles will be 15 per cent electric and the three-wheeler segment 75 per cent electric by 2030, said the report by BNP Paribas called 'India Autos-Electric vehicles: Minutes to midnight'. "We see FY22 as the year of inflection for the two-wheeler EV industry, with an accelerated EV adoption helped by incentives, wider availability, model launches, rise in crude prices and improved general awareness. We see 30 per cent of the 2W industry turning electric by 2030; the pace of incentive withdrawal presents an upside/downside risk," the report (India Autos - Electric vehicles: Minutes to midnight) said.
Speaking at the forum, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) representative director and president Toshihiro Suzuki said, "Suzuki's future mission is to achieve carbon neutrality with small cars. "We will continue active investment in India to realise Self-reliant India (Atma-nirbhar Bharat)." Under the MoU, the company's wholly-owned arm Suzuki Motor Gujarat Pvt Ltd (SMG) will invest Rs 7,300 crore for the construction of a plant for BEV batteries at a land neighboring to SMG's existing plant by 2026.
Glimpses from the 54th International Paris Airshow.
One of the challenges for those car graves is that Indian owners often find markets for their old cars rather than send them to scrapyards.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India will become the growth engine for the world in the coming years, and the ease of doing business has improved with "mission-mode" reforms being undertaken by his government. Speaking at the BRICS Business Forum Leaders' Dialogue in Johannesburg, Modi also said India soon will become a $5 trillion economy.
The poisonous haze has been causing significant problems for people with existing respiratory issues, according to doctors.
The country saw a massive year-on-year surge in the demand for electric vehicles, with retail sales of electric two-wheelers rising by 58 per cent, passenger vehicles by 130 per cent, three-wheelers by 82 per cent, and commercial vehicles by 171 per cent in March 2023, according to the data shared by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (Fada). According to a report by JMK Research, the EV segment as a whole grew by 157 per cent during FY23, to 1,180,597 units, from 458,746 units a year ago. Overall, EV sales in March 2023 rose by 82 per cent from the March 2022 figure, the JMK report added.
Given India's reliance on coal, electric vehicles could at best be 10% more efficient than petrol in terms of CO2 savings.
France-based automobile manufacturer Renault and Japan-headquartered Nissan on Monday committed investments of $600 million (around Rs 5,300 crore) in the country 15 years after foraying into the Tamil Nadu automobile industry. The fresh round of investments would witness roll out of six new models between the two companies including -- two electric vehicles -- representing the two global brands, Nissan Global chief operating officer and Member, Alliance Board Ashwani Gupta said in Chennai.
In a boost to the electric vehicle boom in India, Taiwanese major Hon Hai Technology Group (aka Foxconn) is likely to set up an EV manufacturing unit in India through its subsidiary Foxtron. Amid speculation that the company may look at Tamil Nadu and probably the Ford India unit near Chennai for its new facility, sources indicate that the group was already betting big in the electric vehicle component space in India through Bharat FIH, which is already having a tie up with companies like Ola Electric and Ather. Bharat FIH currently has two manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur that manufactures phones like Apple iPhones and Xiaomi phones.
Embattled Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal walked out of the Tihar Jail on Friday evening, hours after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in a money laundering case to enable him to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections, in a huge relief to his party struggling to gain momentum in the absence of its foremost leader.
Year by year, our cities remain defeated in the face of weather conditions, costing us time, money, resources and often lives, observe Amit Kapoor and Bibek Debroy.
Elections are not won or lost by expounding on such macro-economic matters. For the aam admi, what matters in manifestos are promises that will improve their quality of life, notes Vinayak Chatterjee.
Only a few thousand chargers dot the Indian landscape, some in working condition, others not, with some held hostage to the power supply vagaries of local utilities, reports S Dinakar.
'Battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell and hydrogen ICE, could be the three technologies which have the potential of being zero emission and that are what we will have to work on,'
This is despite the fact that total FDI into India has fallen by 22 per cent from $58 billion in FY22 to $46 billion in FY23, according to the Reserve Bank of India.
