Rama Krishna Sangem
The US can play a major role in helping India’s efforts to promote electric vehicles (EVs) on a massive scale, said Elisha Pulivarty, CEO of US India SME Council, Washington DC. Elisha was referring to reports that India is in talks with the World Bank to secure finances for faster financing of EVs in the country. “There are bright prospects here for SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) in both the countries,” said Pulivarty.
Talking to Excel India on September 21, Wednesday, Elisha Pulivarty said: “India is committed to the goal of meeting its Net Zero emissions commitment given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Paris Climate summit. The move to encourage EVs on a large scale is a step in this direction. That the Government of India, through its agencies like Niti Aayog and banks shows its seriousness in this regard,” said Elisha.
Elisha was giving a series of stories to Excel India as part of the run up to a meeting on US-India business opportunities which will be held in Hyderabad sometime October. Elisha will be he key speaker at the meeting organised by Excel India in association with US India SME Council. As PM Modi has resolved to make India an economy of 5 trillion US dollars by 2025, EVs play a significant role in the drive.
“The Niti Aayog has initiated the process to secure funds close to around 1.5 billion US dollars for various stages of this EV transition. The huge oil import bill has pushed India to a brink of financial crisis since the outbreak of Russian invasion of Ukraine early this year. Continuing high oil prices in the global market has done enough damage to Indian foreign exchange reserves,” said Elisha Pulivarty.
Leading banks like SBI and other private one will be raising funds so that the faster creation of infrastructure for EV would become possible. Setting up of charging stations and creation of engineering eco-system for EVs will be the key point of economy in the coming months. SMEs have an opportunity here. “As climate change goals converge with the need to save foreign exchange, things will work speedily,” said Elisha Pulivarty.
