New Delhi: Giving a push to the central government’s ambitious target of having 30 per cent of total vehicles on road as electric vehicles by 2030, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) on Monday (July 1) procured five electric cars for official use. The electric cars have been acquired from EESL (Energy Efficiency Services Limited), a joint venture of PSUs (Public Sector Undertakings) of the power ministry, with a motive to combat the problem of air pollution in the national capital Delhi.
Confirming the news, the MoEF&CC sent out a tweet which read “@moefcc acquires electric cars for official duty thereby utilising in-house charging facilities and setting an example in pollution free commutes.”
@moefcc acquires Electric Cars for official duty thereby utilising in-house charging facilities and setting an example in pollution free commutes.
@UNEnvironment
#BeatAirPollution
@PIB_India pic.twitter.com/TBeAQk93XJ— MoEF&CC (@moefcc) July 2, 2019
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The MoEF&CC and EESL entered into an agreement for five electric cars for official usage and EESL has supplied five seater sedan cars by Mahindra. Sharing the details of electric cars with NDTV, Ahtaysham Khan, Manager, Electric Mobility, EESL, said,
Mahindra Sedan provided by us gives a driving range of 130 km on a single charge at standard conditions. While a slow charger (AC charger) will take six to eight hours to fully charge the car, fast charger (DC charger) can charge the car in 1.5 hours (90 minutes).
Charging facilities for the same have been developed at the premises of MoEF&CC in their parking area. A total of three chargers – two alternate current (AC) chargers and a direct current (DC) charger have been installed at the Ministry’s premises. While AC chargers are capable of charging six electric cars at a time, a DC charger caters to only one car.
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The ministry has undertaken the project on a pilot basis. According to PTI’s sources,
Of the five electric cars, three have been allotted to the ministry officials. The three vehicles have been allotted to officials in the rank of joint secretary, inspector general and director general.
Shedding light on the ministry’s plan to multiply its fleet of electric cars, Mr Khan said,
Currently, MoEF&CC will be using these electric cars on a pilot basis. In future, if the ministry intends to have more cars than we will definitely help them expand their fleet of cars and chargers. For now, we are under an agreement for six years for complete fleet management.
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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.
