The Rajasthan Government on Friday announced a policy to subsidise the sale of electric vehicles (EV) making it the latest state to have such a policy after Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi. As per the policy document, the state component of the goods and services tax (SGST) would be refunded to buyers of all EVs in Rajasthan between April this year and March 2022. Moreover, buyers of electric two- and three-wheelers would be given additional cash subsidies between Rs 5,000 and Rs 20,000 depending on the size of the battery equipped.
Convergence India Services Ltd (CESL), a subsidiary of state-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the think-tank World Resources Institute (WRI) to help state governments devise strategies for the transition to electric mobility in the coming years. Under this partnership, WRI India will support CESL in building adaptive business models to help state governments achieve their targets, including decentralizing renewable energy and improving battery storage capacities, CESL said in a statement.
The state government will invite various national and international agencies, such as International Energy Agency, United States Agency for International Development and Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development through the Bureau of Energy Efficiency to collaborate with Andhra Pradesh in its energy efficiency movement. Participating in a webinar, chief secretary Adityanath Das said during Covid-19 last year, the state government announced Rs 1,100 crore financial assistance to MSMEs as a restart package.
Green Evolve Private Ltd (Grevol), a zero-emission automotive technology organisation, have announced the launch of their cutting-edge lithium battery packs. These have been created for their own soon to be launched 3-wheeler (L5N category) light commercial vehicles. The company manufactures zero-emission smart, IoT-enabled vehicles and advanced lithium-ion battery packs to meet the requirements of last-mile mobility. The company has partnered with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd.
Total outstanding dues owed by electricity distribution utilities or discoms to power producers fell 15.25 per cent to Rs 82,305 crore in May 2021 from a year ago. Distribution companies (discoms) owed a total Rs 97,111 crore to power generation firms in May 2020, according to portal PRAAPTI (Payment Ratification And Analysis in Power procurement for bringing Transparency in Invoicing of generators).
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), the global body enabling businesses to set emissions reduction targets in line with climate science, is unveiling a new strategy to increase minimum ambition in corporate target setting from ‘well below 2°C’ to ‘1.5°C’ above pre-industrial levels. The new strategy is being rolled out in response to increasing urgency for climate action and the success of science-based targets to date.
