MoS for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Ramdas Athawale chairs stakeholder meeting on implementation of PM Suryodaya Yojana in Maharashtra to unlock the benefits of electric mobility and solar economy to meet the state’s sustainable development goals
Mumbai February 29, 2024: A stakeholder meeting on implementation of Pradhanmantri Suryodaya Yojana – Solar-to-EV Project was held in Mumbai today. The meeting was chaired by Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment (SJE) Shri Ramdas Athawale along with senior officials from the SJE Ministry and Maharashtra Government’s Social Justice & Special Assistance Department and industry stakeholders. The discussions focussed on future roadmap for integration of solar with EVs.
Briefing the media about the stakeholder meeting at Sahyadri Guest House in Mumbai, Union MoS for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Ramdas Athawale stated that leading firms from the solar and electric Mobility solar industry including Reliance New Energy, Adani Solar, Tata Motors, Omega Seiki Mobility, Hop Electric, Kabira Mobility and others also participated in the first-of-its-kind stakeholder meeting on implementation of PM Suryodaya Yojna to discuss the way forward. Seeing the strength of both the state budget in Maharashtra which currently is around 20,000 crores in the current fiscal and around 14,000 crore sanctioned by FM Nirmala Sitharaman, an Electric vehicle2solar social engineering product is being developed taking the assistance of the stakeholders present today, stated Shri Athawale.
The MoS for Social Justice and Empowerment stated that creating an aggregator model for electric two, three-wheelers, and even passenger cars which looks at the combined demand coming from state corporations like Mahatma Phule Backward Class Corporation, Loksahir Anna Bhau Sathe Vikas Mahamandal, Maharashtra State Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation, Sant Rohidas Leather Industries & Charmakar Development Corporation Ltd. and Mahapreit (which is the renewable energy arm of Maharashtra).
He further informed that industry and government has expressed confidence of having together an aggregate demand for close to 2 lakh electric vehicles by end of 2025. It will include 1,00,000 Electric two-wheelers, 70,000 Electric three wheleers and 30,000 fleet-based passenger electric cars to be onboarded on the various state development arms, with economically disadvantaged youth to get support and last mile connectivity with their EV’s which will be powered by solar to find credible source of employment with gig economy which is online food platforms, and even a driver cum ownership model with e commerce players such as flipkart, and amazon which are using electric vehicles as part of their commitment to decarbonise the overall environment and reduce harmful effects of pollution from diesel and petrol vehicles.
As part of the stakeholder discussion, the ministries have also agreed along with the stakeholders to work with existing partners by creating tie-ups with ride-hailing cab operators, operators running electric cabs, and associations with e-commerce players to offer a full spectrum solution where a disadvantaged youth, will be able to reap the benefits of the solar and EV economy.
Currently there is a susbidy on offer of Rs 60,000 subsidy for 2kwh solar panel and Rs 79,000 for 3kwh solar panel but as the panels are still out of reach of the BPL home, the stakeholder group which is likely to meet again next week will look at potential financing options by roping in NBFC’s who could be the next stage of this program.
Some of the industry participants also have seen a huge opportunity with the transition of utilising the ongoing schemes of the government and leveraging this stratum of society as a future consumer of solar panels and solar-based EV charging stations.
The meeting has also created opportunities of battery swapping stations, EV charging stations and EV dealerships which could be integrated into the ongoing programs of the state to help the economically disadvantages and entrepreneurs from the weaker section groups to take full advantage of the government support for the Solar2EV Project for Social Justice that will spur faster adoption of electric vehicle growth and solar energy in the country.
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi had announced ‘Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana’ on January 22, 2024. Under this scheme, 1 crore households will get rooftop solar and that will not only reduce the electricity bill of the poor and middle class, but will also make India self-reliant in the field of energy. This ambitious project is designed to boost solar energy usage in India and marks a significant step towards energy self-reliance and sustainability.
