Punjab partners with WEF for e-mobility

To combat the growing problem of environmental pollution, the Punjab government has partnered with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to design a public-private pilot project on shared, clean and electric mobility, it was announced on Wednesday.

The state, which is also formulating its own Electric Vehicle (EV) policy to support the adoption of e-vehicles, has been chosen for the pilot project by the WEF as it is well positioned for the shared EV transition.

The pilot project will examine how public and private sectors can interplay to offer the most robust and successful EV ecosystem, as part of the collaboration to be formulated at the WEF annual meeting in Davos on January 2020, said Vini Mahajan, state Additional Chief Secretary, Investment Promotion.

The study will form a blueprint for EV implementation across cities and countries worldwide.

The collaboration is just one of the initiatives being taken by the state government to promote e-mobility as a way to transform the state's transport system into a cleaner one.

The state has already banned new registrations of diesel and petrol three wheelers in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Mohali and Fatehgarh Sahib districts.

It is also encouraging the setting up of EV battery units in the new industrial park located over 380 acres in the Dhanansu village in Ludhiana district.

Punjab is also set to get India's first auto shredding plant, with capacity to handle two lakh cars per annum in an eight-hour shift. The plant has been set up in technical collaboration with German technology.

The two-day Progressive Punjab Investors Summit, beginning on Thursday in Mohali town, will see e-mobility as a key subject of discussion, with prominent dignitaries from automobile, e-mobility and research institutions participating in the same.

Delegates from Volvo Group, Virgin Hyperloop One, Mahindra Electric, Hero Electric, SML Isuzu, Hella India Lighting Ltd, among others, will be part of the session to outline the opportunities that prevail in the state to be well placed in the global value chain in e-mobility.

Punjab is already well placed as an auto and auto ancillary manufacturing destination, with leading players present in the state access to large consumption markets and the state-of-the-art infrastructure.

The state houses over two lakh MSMEs that are proficient in light engineering, precision manufacturing and heavy engineering components.

Besides being a prominent hub for secondary steel manufacturing in India, with many global players having invested in the sector in recent months, the state has various forging units.

Many other auto components such as automobile engine parts, steering system parts, braking components and gear lever are being manufactured and even being supplied to majors like BMW, Ford, Honda, Nissan, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra.

International players such as CLAAS, Freudenberg, Vibracoustic and Verbio Group (German companies) have already built robust vendor networks in Punjab while others like CN IFFCO from Spain are in the process of setting up similar operations.IANS