100 ZERO EMISSION E-BUSES TO BE INDUCTED IN DTC’S FLEET BY APRIL THIS YEAR

Delhi Transport Corporations’ (DTC) electric bus fleet will get 100 new buses by March end or April this year, taking the total number of such buses to 400, senior officials said. This year, the Delhi government is planning to procure 1500 electric buses taking take the total number of e-buses to 1800. By 2025, the government is planning to procure 6,380 buses.

“We will receive the first batch of 100 buses by March end or the first week of April. DTC MD Shilpa Shinde had recently visited the Tata Motors plant in Karnataka to inspect the buses that are equipped with security features like CCTV cameras, panic buttons. After the configuration and registration process, they will likely be on the roads in April or May,” said an official privy to the development.

These low floor zero emission electric buses will be inducted this year in a phased manner. “All 1500 buses will be inducted into the transport department’s bus fleet by the end of 2023 after which the total number of electric buses in Delhi’s public transport fleet will be 1800. This will be the highest in any state within the country,” he said.

The official said that the addition of these buses will also provide a shot in the arm in the fight against pollution. The DTC is also trying to procure 1000 buses by September before the G-20 Summit begins in the city. Last month, in January, during the flagoff of electric buses, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that by end of 2025, 80 per cent of Delhi’s total bus fleet will be electric. Sharing a roadmap for procurement of electric buses, he had said the government will be buying 1,500 such vehicles in 2023 and by 2025, 6,380 electric buses will be bought.

Source: PTI

ADDRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS IS GOVT’S PRIORITY: POWER MINISTER R K SINGH

India is committed to providing reliable and affordable power supply to people while keeping environmental concerns as the core priority,” Singh, who is also the Minister for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), said in a statement. He made the remarks while inaugurating the Indian Power Stations 2023 conference being organised by NTPC Ltd at Raipur in Chhattisgarh. Krishan Pal Gurjar, Minister of State of Power, said as the need for power increases in the country, there is also a need to tackle certain challenges that comes along with it.

Gurdeep Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of NTPC Limited, said reliable and sustainable power is more important than plant load factor or the generation. Going forward, the challenges with renewable energy and thermal power will become more severe as the requirements for the grid will have to be taken into consideration, he added.

Source: PTI