Minister sanctions Rs.120cr for research on drones
Minister of Heavy Industries Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey has called on the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) to develop technology to reduce the battery charging time for electric vehicles, adding that about 30% cost of EV is battery that is currently imported.
The Ministry has also sanctioned Rs.120 crore for research and other related work on drones, Dr Pandey announced during interaction with the automobile industry stakeholders.
He expects considerable increase in drone deployments in India in the coming years.
“The auto field contributes to about 14-15% of GDP, which can go up to 25-30%,” he said, underlining that the Government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme is expected to attract Rs.42,500 crore investment and further accelerate manufacturing of components and batteries in India.
The sale of electric vehicles has increased significantly in the last few months due to the various schemes and subsidies provided by the Government, but time for battery charging remains the main concern in adoption of these green vehicles.
It is possible to reduce the battery cost by about 70% as the material for lithium-ion batteries manufacturing is already available in India, he said at a press conference held on 20 Nov 2021 at the interaction meet organised by the Ministry of Heavy Industries in association with ARAI, Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures and Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India to share information about the PLI scheme for the sector.
The Government has sanctioned 6,000 charging stations on nine expressways, Dr. Pandey informed the stakeholders, adding that about 3,000 station would be installed soon.
He also pointed out that the Government’s FAME I and II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) scheme has been extended by another two years to 31 March 2024. #investment #manufacturing #environment /fiinews.com
