A ₹1,500 crore giga watt capacity battery plant will come up in the Phase-I of the proposed 10 GW facility in Telangana.
“Three companies have come forward to set up their facilities in the state in the land allocated near Hyderabad for the project which is being taken up with the support of NITI Aayog,” Sujai Karampuri, Director, Electronics, Telangana, said.
“The state government has earmarked 200 acre site initially at the Electronic City at Maheshwaram near the airport, which has the potential to be ramped up to 1,000 acres, as other companies have come forward to set up units. Work on the Phase-I will commence within couple of months,” he said.
Push for electric mobility
Interacting on the sidelines of Electric Vehicle Summit & Expo 2019 hosted here by the Indian Chamber of Commerce, the official said that Telangana is keen to play a major role in the push towards electric mobility, and that the state government will come out with new electric vehicle policy soon. The draft policy is currently under circulation for comments and feedback.
He said that a number of electric vehicle manufacturing companies have come forward expressing their interest to set up manufacturing facilities in the State. “Once the policy is announced, which will be complementary to the national push for electric mobility, you will hear more about them,” he explained.
“The focus of the State Government is on how to make the electric mobility a reality in terms of adoption in the country. If the ongoing push provided by the Centre and the NITI Aayog is anything to go by, it won’t be long before we realise the dream of popularising electric mobility,” he said.
Mentioning about the FAME-II initiative of the Centre, he said that it seeks to provide a major thrust on electric buses, two and three wheelers. “The state’s effort would be to not only support this initiative but also play a role in popularising other modes and also creating an environment for its growth by extending support to the industries.”
Apart from battery manufacturers, a number of component manufacturers are also keen to set up base in the state.
Force to reckon with
Earlier, Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary Industries, Telangana, talked about a recent meeting with Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, where he lamented that India missed out on industrial, telecom, mobile and solar revolutions.
However, India is well placed to lead in the electric mobility.
“While many states are making efforts to make technology and infrastructure affordable. But, we believe that Telangana is ahead in terms of extending support,” Ranjan said.