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Mahesh Babu’s Drive to Make Olectra’s EV Math Add Up

Mumbai’s electric bus operations reveal gaps between tender assumptions and real-world conditions, impacting energy use, service delivery, and financial models, and prompting operators to seek revised contracts and more sustainable bidding frameworks.

By Shahkar Abidi

04 Mar 2026

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Mahesh Babu’s Drive to Make Olectra’s EV Math Add Up

Hundreds of silent, electric buses have replaced the raucous diesel engines of old, promised as the green panacea for Mumbai's chronic pollution and transit woes. But behind the sleek, zero-emission facades of these vehicles, a high-stakes mathematical discrepancy threatens to stall the electric vehicle (EV) transition's momentum.

For Mahesh Babu, the Managing Director of Olectra Greentech who took charge about five months ago, the challenge is reconciling the "reality gap" between paper-thin tender assumptions and the crushing operational reality of Indian urban density. Previously, he served as CEO of SWITCH Mobility and Managing Director of Mahindra Electric.

Mahesh ...