To ensure the transition of tourist vehicles and rental vehicles to electric vehicles from January 2024, Goa needs to incentivise taxi operators, create robust infrastructure for electric vehicles, and ensure time-bound transfer of benefits, said industry stakeholders.
Industry players said that Goa can become the leader in adoption of electric mobility but government policies and private partnership need to go hand in hand in order to achieve the ambitious goals set by the government.
The Goa Electric Mobility Promotion Policy 2021 aims to convert half of the state’s diesel ferries to electric by 2025.
Last month, chief minister Pramod Sawant announced that all new tourist vehicles, rental cars, and rental motorbikes will be electric from January.
“The local tourism businesses can be further incentivised to adopt electric vehicles through tax breaks, subsidies, and charging support,” added Rohan Nagarkar, founding partner, Cycling Zens.
He was speaking at a state-level dialogue organised by ICLEI South Asia to discuss electric vehicle adoption.
As India’s aviation sector adapts to rising passenger demand, backed by expansion of domestic circuits and forecasts of soaring aviation growth, CAPA predicts that India could handle 1.3 billion passengers and operate 4,000 aircraft by 2043. There is a need to modernise aviation infrastructure, expand facilities, drive efforts to train and retain qualified professionals and more to accommodate growth effectively.
Besides looking at the existing policy measures to encourage adoption of electric vehicles, the industry participants also spoke about the hurdles faced during the execution of the state’s electric vehicle policy.“Goa can be a focal point for adoption of new technologies when it comes to electric mobility. This can go ahead with the right kind of government incentives and active participation of private players,” said Abhinav Apte, director, Track Change.
Goa’s EV Policy aims at creating world-class infrastructure for electric vehicles in order to ensure faster adoption of electric vehicles.
Aside from reducing emissions, EV adoption could also lead to job creation and fresh investment into the state. “We have three key elements to make this a success — identify the stakeholders, give benefits and make the infrastructure feasible for them, and lastly, look at the safety of such an adoption,” said Agnello Gomes, founding director, Green Technologies and Engineers.
