Maharashtra signs MoU with US organization for EV policy tech support

MUMBAI: In a crucial move to implement the state’s recently-launched electric vehicle (EV) policy, the state government signed an MoU with US-based non-profit organization Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), which will provide technical support to the state.
The signing took place in Glasgow at United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26). The state EV policy, approved in July, aims to have a 10% share of electric vehicles in registrations by 2025. It targets conversion of 15% of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) fleet into electric by 2025. The policy provides fiscal incentives for EV buyers and for manufacturers along with subsidies for creation of charging infrastructure.
The state government said RMI is a 40-year-old non-profit working on clean energy transitions globally. “In Maharashtra, RMI has been engaging with Pune through its City EV Accelerator platform to make Pune EV-ready. We look forward to further our partnership on electric mobility, ZEV, hydrogen fuel and decarbonisation our transport sector and urban renewal sector,” said state environment minister Aaditya Thackeray at the signing of the MoU.
Highlighting the need to mobilize climate finance, CEO of RMI Jule Kortenhorst said, “Maharashtra is showing leadership for climate action by sub-national governments. The size and scale of economic growth in the state provides it the unique opportunity to leapfrog to clean and modern energy systems and be the role model for sub-national governments, not only in India, but globally.”
Thackeray was invited by UNFCCC high-level champions for a one-on-one chat with First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, who “commended the sheer scale at which Maharashtra government is working to decarbonise the state”. The minister emphasized that it will be up to administrative officers and elected representatives to lead and inspire sustainable development for Maharashtra.
He said Maharashtra Council for Climate Change will convene to chart out a decarbonisation pathway for the state, under the chairmanship of chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. “Climate is karma, it will do to you what you do to the planet. It will not discriminate between developing and developed. It will hit us all regardless of who or where we are,” he said.