E – Sawaari India E – Bus Coalition

The E – Sawaari India E – Bus Coalition was launched by the National Institution of Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. It was launched in partnership with World Resources Institute and Convergence Energy Service Limited (CESL). The initiative is also supported by Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI).

Objective

• The main objective of the initiative is to share knowledge of different share holders such as central and state government agencies, original equipment manufacturers and transit service providers.
• It mainly aims to adopt seamless adoption of e – bus services in India.

Significance

• The initiative will cater the demand and supply of e – buses in the country.
• It will provide innovative solutions through which the e – bus adoption will increase in the country.
• It will also act as a boost to FAME Scheme Phase – II. FAME is Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles. The second phase aims to support 7,000 e – buses, 55,000 e – passenger vehicles and 5,000 e – three wheelers and a million e – two wheelers.
• The launch of e – buses will help Indian Transport System to achieve net – zero emission.

What is the need of the initiative?

The initiative will help India reduce its pollution level. Of the 30 most polluted cities in the world, 21 are in India. India ranked 141 in Air Quality Index, 2020. 27% of pollution in the country is caused by vehicles. This can be reduced through the initiative. The initiative will help the National Clean Air Programme to achieve its target of 20% to 30% reduction of PM2.5 and PM10 by 2024. Also, the scheme will reduce India’s oil imports. India is the third largest importer of oil in the world.

Why Electric Buses?

• The Electric Buses in India have very short history in India. Therefore, it needs a boost. The e – buses are currently been supported only by the FAME scheme.
• The Indian cities are yet to identify the best fit e – technology for their operations.
• There is a need to evaluate the performance of already deployed e – buses.