Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and Minister of Road Transport, Highway and Shipping  – Nitin Gadkari, on May 26, inaugurated India’s first Multi Modal Electric Vehicle Project and Ola Electric Charging Station at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur. CM Fadnavis and Gadkari flagged off a fleet of 200 electric vehicles in the presence of Diwakar Raote (Minister of Transport, Maharashtra), Chandrashekhar Bawankule (Minister of Energy, New and Renewable Energy, Maharashtra), Nandatai Jichkar (Mayor, Nagpur), Abhay Damle (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways), Manoj Saunik (Principal Secretary, Transport and Ports), Satish Sahasrabuddhe (Additional  Transport Commissioner) Krupal Tumane (MP, Ramtek), Ajay Sancheti (MP, Rajya Sabha), Sachin Kurve (District Collector, Nagpur), Dr Vikas Mahatme (MP, Rajya Sabha), Dr Pawan Goenka (Managing Director, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd.) and Bhavish Aggarwal (Co-founder and CEO, Ola).

Ola and Mahindra have partnered with the Government of India for a first-of-its-kind project to build an electric mass mobility ecosystem in Nagpur. This unique project has different vehicles across different segments like e-buses, e-cabs, e-rickshaws and e-autos. The Ola app will help Nagpurians to book these vehicles for travelling anywhere around the city.

While speaking on the occasion, CM Fadnavis said, Maharashtra is gearing towards driving positive change for collective improvement of the society we live in. We should welcome, encourage and be proud of such initiatives. We are extremely happy to see corporations like Ola, Mahindra and others, working towards building sustainable transportation for all. In support of this initiative, we have waived off VAT, road tax and registration for all electric vehicles in the state and we look forward to build Maharashtra as a model state for others to emulate in the future.

Nitin Gadkari, speaking on occasion said, There is an urgent need to re-think and revisit transport infrastructure and fuel dependency, not just in India but globally. Large scale adoption of electric vehicles can bring a monumental change, which is the need of the hour. It’s our mission to launch 100% electric vehicles in India by 2030. It is heartening to see Indian companies such as Ola and Mahindra taking Government’s vision forward and helping in building a strong ecosystem for sustainable mobility. I look forward to work with them to make the 2030 vision a reality.”

Speaking about the project and the association with the Government of India, Bhavish Aggarawal, said, We are excited about how this could transform the mobility experience for millions of citizens, unlock immense opportunity for driver partners and positively impact the environment and quality of life in our cities. The government has been extremely supportive towards kick-starting this initiative and we look forward to working with them and the various industry partners in building the electric vehicle ecosystem in India. We believe that electric mobility in a multi-modal format will be key towards realizing our mission of building mobility for a billion Indians.”