Karnataka to focus on electric vehicles due to high energy costs

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 6 (ANI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwatha Narayana on Tuesday said the shift to electric mobility has become necessary due to the fast depletion of fossil fuels, increase in energy costs.
Narayana who also holds the electronics, IT/Bt portfolio, was speaking as a panellist by participating virtually on 'Governing Goods on the Move' organized by the World Economic Forum as part of the "Global Technology Governance Summit 2021".
The shift to electric mobility for instance has become necessary now more than ever due to the fast depletion of fossil fuels, increase in energy costs, the impact of transportation on the environment, and digital intervention. Industry, governments, and early adopters have succeeded in demonstrating that electric vehicles can deliver the practicality, sustainability, safety, and affordability characteristics expected from them, he explained.
Narayana said, "The Government of Karnataka has a big focus towards last-mile delivery/logistics/commute space and EV (electric vehicle) adoption; Mobile internet, automation, the internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, advanced genomics, renewable energy are some areas of innovation and technology that need to be adopted to bring about changes in ways of traditional systems of functioning."
In addition, the government has fast-tracked the long-pending suburban train project, expanding the Metro train network in Bangalore and assisting last-mile logistics companies in their operations as they look at equipping more metro stations with rentable cycles and bikes and offer easy availability of shared 2/3/4 wheeler ride options for commuters, he informed.
India being a growing economy, needs to invest in robust logistics infrastructure and efficient supply chains. To support the vision of 'Make in India', logistics and supply chain can be improved and made more efficient, Narayana emphasized.
Institutions like the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a 'Smart Factory' called 4.0 India@IISc. GoK has partnered with the World Economic Forum to launch the Centre for Internet of Ethical Things. This centre is aimed at being a sandbox for new emerging technologies and their applications and will bring together multi-stakeholders, he told.
Andre Andonian, Chairman, McKinsey and Company, Yoshifumi Kato, Chief Technology Officer, Denso, Mariam Al-Foudery, Group Chief Marketing Officer, Agility participated as panellists. (ANI)