‘Telangana to become hub for EV manufacturing in India’
KTR said state government was setting up three EV manufacturing hubs, one at Divitipally in Mahbubnagar, Yenkathala in Vikarabad and Zaheerabad in Sangareddy district as part of Telangana Mobility Valley project
Sangareddy: IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao said Telangana would become the hub for electric vehicle manufacturing in the country with the State government coming up with the best EV policy in the country.
Addressing the gathering after performing the Bhumi Puja for the electric vehicle manufacturing facility of Mahindra Last Mile Mobility (LMM), a part of Mahindra &Mahindra (M&M) in Zaheerabad on Monday, the Minister said the State government was setting up three hubs, one at Divitipally in Mahbubnagar district, Yenkathala in Vikarabad district and Zaheerabad in Sangareddy district as part of the Telangana Mobility Valley project to encourage manufacturers of electric vehicles. Stating that electric vehicles were the future of the automobile industry, Rao said carbon emissions could be restricted only with electric vehicles.
Internal combustion vehicles would disappear in the days to come, Rao said, adding that the State government had announced the Telangana Mobility Valley in February this year when Telangana hosted the Formula E race. While Divitipally would have an innovation hub, Yenkathala would become home to a research and development hub and Zaheerabad would be the hub for manufacturing of electric vehicles.
Stating that with industrialists were coming to invest in chip-making, battery-making and vehicle manufacturing in Telangana, he said the State government had come up with an EV policy, thus becoming the first State in the country to have such a policy. With an objective to encourage EV manufacturers, the State government would procure EVs to use in the government sector in such as GHMC, TSRTC and others.
Stating that Mahindra & Mahindra would invest Rs 1,000 crore in the current EV unit, the Minister said there would be more investments and expansion by Mahindra since the electric vehicle industry was going to be the future.
The industrial sector had got a boost in Telangana with the introduction of the revolutionary TSiPASS, after which the State government had extended 23,000 permissions which attracted investments worth 3.30 lakh crore besides creating employment for 20 lakh people. Assuring to extend all support to set up a skill enhancement centre in Zaheerabad, the Minister urged the M&M management to provide employment to locals on priority. He also called upon the local youth to grab opportunities by improving their skill base.
With this new facility,the company aims to build a state-of-the-art battery assembly line, producing power packs and manufacture electronic as well as drive train components for electric 3 and 4 wheelers. The facility will also create employment for 800 to 1000 employees in the region.
Suman Mishra, CEO, Mahindra Last Mile Mobility, said: “Mahindra Last Mile Mobility is at the forefront of India’s 3-wheeler electrification journey. I would like to thank the Government of Telangana for their proactiveness and ease of doing business policies under which Zaheerabad has been developed into one of the four mega EV manufacturing clusters. This facility will allow us to access state-of-the-art infrastructure available in the region.”