As India's diplomatic tensions with the Land of the Maple Leaf escalate, so do the anxieties of countless Punjabis.
Electric vehicle (EV) sales in India topped the 1 million mark in less than nine months in 2023, a milestone that took an entire year in 2022. According to data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways' Vahan Dashboard, 1,037,011 EVs were registered with regional transport offices till September 19, accounting for 6.4 per cent of the total automobile sales in the country this year. The sales surge can be attributed to increased individual purchases as well as business-to-business (B2B) acquisitions by EV fleet operators, industry sources said.
The Centre on Wednesday scrapped the mandatory human safety tests for electric vehicle (EV) batteries required to qualify for incentives under various government schemes. The ministry of heavy industries, in its fresh guidelines, has made compliance with the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH's) prevailing EV battery testing standards the only requirement to get incentives under the Centre's various incentive schemes.
Coupang, a prominent online retail giant headquartered in the United States (US), is gearing up to establish a cutting-edge technology centre in India, aiming to hire several dozen skilled professionals by the end of the year, Business Standard has learnt. The intended expansion involves the recruitment of software engineers across various domains, underscoring Coupang's commitment to extend its global reach. The Indian team will support the company's global technology team, sources said.
In a significant move to enhance its strategic resource security, India has officially released its first-ever critical minerals list, identifying 30 key critical minerals crucial to the nation's economic growth and technological development. This pioneering step aims at reducing import dependence, enhancing supply-chain resilience, and supporting the country's net-zero objectives. Union Minister Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi, while releasing the Critical Minerals for India report in New Delhi on Wednesday, said, "India is readying for an Atmanirbhar Bharat."
As the government plans no further extension of the scheme beyond FY24, the task is to achieve the unfinished target of subsidising 914,707 EVs.
South Korean e-commerce giant, Coupang, is planning to enter the Indian market. The SoftBank-backed start-up has initiated dialogues with the Indian government to enter one of the world's largest e-commerce markets, government officials told Business Standard. "We have received an application from the South Korean government, in which Coupang has expressed interest in entering India," said officials, adding that "dialogues with the Coupang delegation are likely to start next month".
The central government is expected to complete the auction of the 5.9-million tonne (mt) lithium reserves discovered in the Reasi district of the northern Union Territory (UT) of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) by the end of this calendar year, Union Mines Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj said on the sidelines of the launch of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) report on 'New-Age Energy Minerals' on Tuesday. "Auction will be over by the end of this year," said Bharadwaj, adding, "We have already recommended a transaction advisor to the J&K government for the auction of lithium reserves." However, the exact timeline for an auction will be decided by J&K authorities, Union mines minister Pralhad Joshi said in Parliament last month.
'The aim is also to probe how the ministry and testing agencies made negligence in examining these OEMs, so that such negligence is avoided in the future.'
Amid a shift in mobility trends and people increasingly opting for less polluting energy sources, sales of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles increased more than 82 per cent in the past five years. A total of 729,902 CNG vehicles were sold in 2022-23 against 400,825 in 2017-18, according to VAHAN Dashboard. Though the increase in sales of CNG-powered vehicles has been significant, their share in overall vehicle sales remains minuscule as is the case with EVs.
'He is exposing the failings of the BJP, which is rankling the party.'
Subsidies have been stopped for several manufacturers that are under investigation for alleged violations of local-sourcing rules.
This is the highest number of tiger deaths in three years.
as the FAME II deadline of March 31, 2024, nears, EV manufacturers are worried about their investments and future plans.
'Through volume numbers and unit sales one can see, we are not making a loss'
Innovation ranging from exterior designs of vehicles to EV charger locks grabbed eyeballs at the expo
Even as India overtakes Japan in automotive sales in 2022, moving to third place for the first time, oddly enough the country's biggest motor show is going to see some big hitters give it a clear miss. Some prominent automotive brands have cited high event costs, negligible returns on investment, poor event management, and unfavourable location as reasons for their reluctance to participate. Major pure-play electric two-wheelers, too, are riding past this year's edition of the Auto Expo.
The tourism industry plays a vital role in the town, accounting for 70 per cent of its economy, according to experts.
The recent spate of technical glitches in aircraft has prompted the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to issue an order on July 18, making aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs) with category B1/B2 licences the final authorities in certifying planes. This has put the spotlight on the availability of such personnel. According to the order, airlines were resorting to frequent one-off authorisation by the Category A certifying staff at transit stations, which is not in line with existing regulatory provisions.
According to experts, Bishnoi had been sulking since the Congress ignored him for the post of its Haryana unit chief during a revamp earlier this year.