For the purchase, the government of Tamil Nadu is seeking a loan from German state-owned development bank KfW, at an interest rate of 2%, according to reports. Electric buses would be introduced in Chennai, as well as Coimbatore and Madurai initially. Image: John K Thorne Photography/Flickr The Tamil Nadu government will purchase 2,000 low-maintenance, battery-operated buses as part of its endeavor to adopt environmentally-friendly public transport. The buses would run in Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai in the first phase of their deployment. For the purchase, the state government is planning to borrow from German state-owned development bank KfW at 2% interest, transport minister MR Vijayabhaskar told the Times of India newspaper. The news comes after interim finance minister Piyush Goyal announced recently “India will lead the world in transport revolution through use of electric vehicles and energy storage solutions. This will help in cutting down costly imports of oil, enhance energy security and lead to savings of foreign exchange.” In a move to boost Make In India, and thus enable faster adoption of electric vehicles, the Indian government recently reduced customs duty on EV parts and components, from 15-30% to 10-15%. Only 260,000 EVs operate on Indian roads, the majority of them two-wheelers. By contrast, China had a stock of 1.8 million EVs and 258 million e-bikes at the end of last year, according to a report by Wood Mackenzie. This year is set to be an important one for Indian electric transport, as the final version of the National Auto Policy will be issued, along with the second phase of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of [Hybrid and] Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme. Based in New Delhi, Uma reports on the latest PV market trends and projects in India. An MSc Physics (Electronics) and MBA, she has over a decade of experience in technology journalism. More articles from Uma Gupta
The government of Tamil Nadu is seeking a loan from the German development bank KfW to purchase 2,000 electric buses. The vehicles, which would initially operate in Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai, form part of a plan to make public transport more environmentally-friendly. India recently announced it was committed to becoming a global leader in the adoption of electric vehicles to reduce its dependency on oil exports.