New Delhi: In an effort to send out a green message and take government’s agenda of promoting clean mobility further, Chief Ministers Nitish Kumar and K. Palaniswami are supporting and encouraging the usage of electric vehicles. While Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made his way to the state assembly in Patna in an electric vehicle, on the other hand Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami flagged off the latest electronically run Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) in Chennai.
According to the Press Trust India, when the Bihar CM reached the assembly, he was greeted with a bouquet of flowers by the Transport Department Principal Secretary Sanjay Agarwal, whom he told,
It is a pleasure traveling in this car, it is almost soundless and its design feels very comfortable while sitting inside. It is also very easy to drive, there is no need to change gears frequently.
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Mr. Agarwal told the reporters that the EV which the CM commented on is manufactured by Tata Motors and can cover a distance of 150 km upon being charged for four hours.
Factoring in the cost of electricity it can be said that the car, priced at Rs 11 lakh costs 80 paise per kilometer. Besides economic viability, it also causes zero pollution. We are in the process of installing charging points at 1, Anney Marg (the CM’s residence which is about a kilometer and a half away) and here at the Vidhan Sabha, Mr. Agrawal added.
As per the norms, Mr. Kumar’s EV had a green number plate suggesting its eco-friendly nature.
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Just a day before Mr. Kumar chose the EV to commute, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami on Wednesday flagged off Hyundai Motor’s electric SUV named KONA Electric at the state secretariat in Chennai.
சென்னை தலைமைச் செயலகத்தில் இன்று (24.7.2019) ஹூண்டாய் நிறுவனத்தின் கோனா எலக்ட்ரிக் காரை மாண்புமிகு தமிழ்நாடு முதலமைச்சர் திரு.எடப்பாடி கே.பழனிசாமி அவர்கள் அறிமுகம் செய்து வைத்தார். #TNGovt #Hyundai #konaelectric pic.twitter.com/Z2jo8TOfMs
— CMOTamilNadu (@CMOTamilnadu) July 24, 2019
The tweet translated to: The Honorable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Mr. Edappadi K. Palanisamy, introduced the Hyundai company’s Kona Electric Car today (24.7.2019). #TNGovt #Hyundai #konaelectric
As per a statement issued by the Tamil Nadu government, Mr. Palaniswami also had a ride in the EV. It further stated that Hyundai Motor India and the TN government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, whereby the company would invest Rs 7,000 crore for expansion and rolling out of electric cars in the state. The SUV, KONA Electric, is also being manufactured in Tamil Nadu’s manufacturing plant in Chennai.
In the Union Budget for the financial year 2019-20, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced an additional tax benefit of Rs 1.5 lakh on payment of interest towards loans taken for the purchase of vehicles. The Narendra Modi led government is eager to promote the use of eco-friendly cars and has set a target stating 30 percent of the total vehicles plying on roads by 2030 will be electric.
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.
