Heavy Industry Ministry undecided on timeframe for achieving all-electric mobility

The government has not set any timeframe for achieving an all-electric car fleet in the country, said Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Anant Geete, reports PTI.

The minister stated the government wants to encourage adoption of electric mobility by changing people’s mindsets and cooperation of the automobile industry.

Geete’s statement assumes significance as Union ministers including Piyush Goyal, have in the past talked about achieving an all-electric car fleet by 2030.

However, the Secretary in the Department of Heavy Industry Asha Ram Sihag said the new auto policy entails an emissions roadmap till 2028, and the road map in the draft policy is such that for achieving it the industry and people will need to migrate towards electric mobility.

“The whole world is moving towards electric mobility. Therefore, we also need to embrace it, else we will lag behind. But we have not decided on any time-frame,” said Geete addressing a press conference. He further clarified on the statements being made in the past about the 2030 deadline for achieving an all-electric fleet, he said the Heavy Industry Ministry has not decided any timeframe on achieving it.

“Our efforts are towards encouraging adoption of electric mobility. We need to create a mindset first. We will only be able to achieve electric mobility with cooperation from the industry because they are the ones manufacturing vehicles not the government,” Geete said.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal had earlier said, “Only electric cars by 2030, existing cars may take a little longer to replace. But the government is working on a framework to see what we can do on promoting electric vehicles. NITI Aayog is currently tasked with preparing a futuristic vision for electric vehicles."

Geete said the government wants to accord priority to public transport to push mass adoption of electric mobility. “We are not in a hurry. We are giving a 10-year timeframe to the industry to achieve the emissions roadmap,” Geete added.