Green mobility initiatives

Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved a scheme to add 10,000 e-buses to city bus services across the country, and to shore up urban infrastructure under green mobility initiatives with a focus on cities having no organized bus services.

About PM e-bus Sewa scheme:

• It will have an estimated cost of 57, 613 crore, of which the Centre will provide Rs.20, 000 crore.
• It will support bus operations for 10 years.
• In 169 cities, 10,000 e-buses will be deployed using a public-private partnership (PPP) model and in 181 other cities, infrastructure will be upgraded under the green urban mobility initiatives.
• The scheme will be implemented in two segments:
• For cities in the first segment, depot infrastructure will also be developed or upgraded to support the new e-buses, including the creation of behind-the-meter power infrastructure like substations.
• For those in the second segment, initiatives will focus on bus priority, infrastructure, multimodal interchange facilities, automated fare collection systems, and charging infrastructure.
• Implemented In: Cities with a population of three lakh and above will be covered under the scheme, including all the capital cities of Union Territories, and the northeastern and hill States.

• The adoption of electric mobility services will help reduce noise and air pollution in Indian cities and also curb carbon emissions.
• This scheme is also expected to bring in economies of scale for the procurement of electric buses through aggregation.
• Around 45,000 to 55,000 direct jobs are expected to be generated via the scheme.

Green Mobility and Importance:

• Green mobility refers to all those mobility options that emit lower emissions – in terms CO2 g/km than pure Internal Combustion Engine vehicles – through the use of alternate fuels, drive-train technologies or other measures;
• Bio-fuel and Methanol based mobility
• Compressed Natural gas (CNG) based mobility
• Electric and Hybrid Mobility (xEV)
• Hydrogen energy and fuel cell based mobility

Government Initiatives:

• National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020: In 2013, Government of India launched a National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020.
• It aims to achieve national fuel security by promoting hybrid and electric vehicles in the country.
• It targets 6-7 million sales of hybrid and electric vehicles year on year from 2020 onwards
• FAME I (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (hybrid &) Electric vehicles in India) : The objective of the scheme to support the hybrid or electric vehicles market development and its manufacturing eco-system in the country in order to achieve self-sustenance in stipulated period.
• It also seeks to provide demand incentives to electric and hybrid vehicles from two-wheeler to buses.
• Automotive Mission Plan 2026: It aims at making the Indian Automotive Industry among the top three of the world in engineering, manufacture and exports of vehicles & components; growing in value to over 12% of India GDP and generating an additional 65 million jobs.
• Green Urban Transport Scheme: Under this scheme, government aims to launch eco–friendly transportation facilities in urban areas
• India’s Electric Vehicle (EV) Mission 2030: Government plans to have an all-electric fleet of vehicles by 2030.