Here’s What Happened at Niti Aayog’s Mobility Summit MOVE

At the global mobility summit MOVE held on September 7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hinted at a fresh policy on electric vehicles (EVs) and alternative fuels to come out soon with the aim of boosting the e-mobility drive in India. Mainly, the policy entails assistance for automakers in taking the production of battery-powered and alternative fuel vehicles to a higher level, so that rising import bills can be controlled.

A day before the summit, transport minister Nitin Gadkari made the announcement about the Indian government’s proposal to relieve road permits for EVs, and alternative fuels vehicles like Compressed Nitrogen Gas (CNG), and ethanol. Moreover, domestic and international Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) have recently demanded to be allowed to come up with a policy road map concerning EVs, so that the investment plans can be started.

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The two-day global mobility summit MOVE was organized by the government think tank Niti Aayog. The event saw a gathering of union ministers, CEOs, industry captains, stakeholders from mobility sector to transportation, from India as well as abroad. Centered on co-creating a public interest framework to innovate India’s transport sectors, the summit discussed topics such as reinventing public transport, alternative fuels, and role of data analytics in goods transport and logistics.

Inc42 quoted PM Modi from the summit, “Charged mobility is the way forward for India”. Modi also highlighted the need to invest in EV manufacturing and the need for change in infrastructure, while accentuating on the need for adopting and electrifying public modes of transport as a means of fighting changes brought about by climate change.

“My vision for the future of mobility in India is based on 7 Cs- common, connected, convenient, congestion-free, charged, clean, cutting-edge,” Modi said.

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As part of the summit, the Uber aviation team met PM Modi and discussed the potential of Uber in contributing to help Indian cities with reducing congestion and pollution. Eric Allison, Head of Aviation Programs at Uber also attended the MOVE Summit and spoke on the importance of a strong foundation for the next generation of innovations in urban mobility, and was quoted by inc42 as saying, “I am very excited to be in India and to be discussing the future of urban mobility with one of the most visionary leaders in the world today, PM Modi. Uber is committed to partner the government in this mission to move India forward.”

To many, the outcome of the much awaited summit MOVE has proved to be less than exciting, as the expectation was on clarity regarding the second phase of the national policy on Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric (FAME II) vehicles, which still remains uncertain. The Modi government is still facing flak for the ambitious stance it took last year about India producing and selling only EVs by 2030, of which, there still is no concrete plan.