India has the potential to become a world leader in production of electric vehicles: Berkeley Resear
Washington (PTI): India has the potential to become the world leader in electric vehicles production, a research by Berkeley National Laboratory and UCLA said, underlining that making the transition from diesel-fuelled trucks to electric-charged will enable the country to meet the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2070.
India imports 88 per cent of the oil it uses and of the total petroleum consumed by the country's transport sector, nearly 60 per cent used by freight trucks.
A study by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) on Monday revealed that electric trucks would be more affordable to operate than diesel and India could become a world leader in producing electric vehicles.
The transition will also help India reduce its reliance on imported oil, improve the air quality, and meet the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2070, the study said.
"Electric trucks would be instrumental in enhancing India's energy security and reducing the goods transport cost," said Nikit Abhyankar, Berkeley Lab research scientist and author of the report "Freight Trucks in India are Primed for Electrification."
Based on India's current grid emissions, electric trucks would reduce greenhouse gas emissions to nine per cent from 35 per cent per kilometer compared with diesel trucks, the report said.
"India has embarked on very ambitious electrification policies prior to this," said Deepak Rajagopal, an author of the report and a faculty scientist at Berkeley Lab and UCLA.
"We find that the time is now ripe to put targeted policies on trucking," Rajagopal said in a statement released by Berkeley Lab.
In related research published last year, Berkeley Lab scientists determined how battery-electric trains can deliver environmental justice, cost-savings, and resilience to the US.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
