The NBCC Limited (formerly the National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited) has announced that it will be installing up to 150 brand new electric car charging stations in the next 12-18 months across the country. The first electric car charging station has already been installed in Delhi as a pilot project to see what the usage patterns will be. The NBCC Limited is a Central Public Centre undertaking that is owned by the Indian government and is a listed on the stock market too. The electric car charging stations will be put up in collaboration with a Finland based company called Fortum that is owned partially be the Finnish government.
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The leading issue with electric cars today is range anxiety and the lack of public and usable charging points is one of the biggest reasons the electric car concept hasn't caught on with the masses. While infrastructure has always been the biggest hurdle, these first baby steps towards creating a public electric charge point network spearheaded by an Indian government agency is a move in the right direction.
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At the recent SIAM convention, Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India, Nitin Gadkari stated that all Indian automakers will have to make a conscious switch towards electric cars and those manufacturers would be allowed to sell only electric cars by the year 2030. While the statement might have seemed aggressive at the time, especially since he added that if manufacturers would not heed, they would be bulldozed into the decision, these recent steps seem to be a positive sign. With the world moving towards a cleaner and more efficient solution to motoring with the likes of plug in hybrid or battery electric vehicles, Indian auto makers like Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors have also announced their move into the electric car segment in the near future.
