Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday unveiled a mobility road map that seeks investments in manufacturing electric vehicles and increased use of public transport for travel.
Congestion-free mobility was critical to check economic and environmental costs of congestion. The Indian economy was the world’s fastest growing major economy that was building 100 smart cities and constructing roads, airports, rail lines and ports at a greater pace, Mr. Modi said at the Global Mobility Summit MOVE.
Clean mobility, powered by clean energy, was the most powerful weapon to fight climate change. “This means a pollution-free clean drive, leading to clean air and better living standards for our people. We should champion the idea of ‘clean kilometres’. My vision for the future of mobility in India is based on 7 Cs: common, connected, convenient, congestion-free, charged, clean, cutting-edge,” he said.
Congestion-free mobility
The focus must be to go beyond cars to other vehicles such as scooters and rickshaws. “Common public transport must be the cornerstone of our mobility initiatives.”
The Prime Minister called for leveraging the full potential of vehicle pooling to improve private vehicle utilisation. Mobility should be safe, affordable and accessible for all sections of the society, he said.
Charged mobility was the way forward and the government wanted to drive investments across the value chain from batteries to smart charging to electric vehicle manufacturing.
“We need to ensure that public transport is preferred to private modes of travel,” he said. “The Internet-enabled Connected Sharing Economy is emerging as the fulcrum of mobility.”
Mobility, he said, is a key driver of the economy. “Better mobility reduces the burden of travel and transportation, and can boost economic growth. It is already a major employer and can create the next generation of jobs.”
The pace of construction of highways had doubled, rural road building programme had been re-energised, fuel efficient and cleaner fuel vehicles were being promoted and low-cost air connectivity in under-served regions was being developed, he pointed out.
