Electric vehicles to create jobs, reduce dependency on oil import:Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Wednesday said the government's electric mobility programme will promote manufacturing and job creation, besides reducing pollution.

Electric mobility is an attractive, sustainable and profitable solution to mitigate adverse impact of climate change and the threat to public health caused especially by vehicular emission, he said after induction of 15 electric vehicles for usage by officers of the Finance Ministry.

The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, has signed an agreement with Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), an entity under the Ministry of Power, for deployment of 15 electric vehicles for their officers, an official statement said.

At the same time, 28 charging points (24 slow charging points charging in six hours and four fast charging points charging in 90 minutes) have been installed at North Block for charging these vehicles.

With the induction of these 15 vehicles being provided on lease basis for a period of five years, DEA is expected to save over 36,000 litres of fuel every year besides leading to reduction of over 440 tonnes of CO2 annually, it said.

These vehicles are automatic and fully air-conditioned with zero emission, it said, adding the government will also save in maintenance and operating cost which is almost one fourth compared to an internal combustion engine.

"With this development, DEA begins its transition towards a reduced carbon footprint and a more environmentally sustainable future.It also marks its participation in India's e-mobility goal of 30 percent fleet electrification by 2030," it said.

Several stakeholders across the nation are already implementing many initiatives to support electric mobility with more expected to join the effort, the statement added.

The Department of Expenditure has also issued an office memorandum for all the government offices in Delhi to switch over to electric vehicles, it said.

Adoption of electric vehicles will reduce dependence on oil imports and promote power capacity addition in India thereby enhancing energy security of the country and will further reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector and also positively impact the pollution level in the cities.

Besides Jaitley, the event was attended by Minister of State for Power R K Singh, Finance Secretary Ajay Narayan Jha, DEA Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, Power Secretary Ajay Bhalla and G C Murmu, OSD, Department of Expenditure.