The Lok Sabha will soon get electric buses that are powered by cost-effective batteries developed by ISRO. The long-term plan: to replace all diesel buses in India with electric buses.
If all goes according to plan, the Lok Sabha will soon have two battery-powered buses, which means that our Ministers of Parliament will get sweet energy-efficient rides to take care of their transport needs within India’s lower house of parliament.
PM Narendra Modi will give these buses to the Lok Sabha on December 21st.
They are powered by batteries designed by the Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO).
The lithium-ion batteries, at Rs 5 lakh each, have been developed at a fraction of the Rs 55 lakh cost of their imported variants. These are also the same batteries that ISRO uses to power satellites, thus showcasing the two Indian attributes of thrift and reuse to wonderful effect.
The pilot project that will follow will see 15 of these buses on Delhi roads, with plans to scale to 1.5 lakh electric buses nationwide, where they will replace diesel buses.
“We have 1.5 lakh buses of state road transport corporations. It is our effort to convert 1.5 lakh diesel buses into electric battery-operated buses which will reduce Rs 8 lakh crore bill on import of crude and petroleum and would also help in making India pollution free,” the Road Transport and Highways Minister, Nitin Gadkari, said.
This is not just a great way in which our country’s lawmakers can model good behaviour. In the current, smog-filled storm of debate over pollution in Delhi, it is a beacon of hope from the future – one that is clean, economical, and powered by alternative energy.
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