Wheels in Motion

MISSION ELECTRIC: Meet the pathfinders. How India is moving to a green economy

NITIN GADKARI Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways

There can’t be a better person than surface transport minister Nitin Gadkari to talk about electric vehicles, alternative fuels and improving highway infrastructure in the country. Gadkari is the minister selling the dream of cutting the highway trip from Delhi to Chandigarh or Dehradun from five hours to two, or travelling to Mumbai from the national capital in 12 hours. He is betting big time on lithium-ion and alternative fuel-based vehicular traffic by the next decade, which will not only cut down on pollution and climate change effects but also reduce the dent on the country’s current account balance. Gadkari was joined by two new-age entrepreneurs, Jeetender Sharma, MD & founder, Okinawa, and Ketan Mehta, founder & CEO, Hop Electric Mobility, who raised many of the challenges and opportunities in this transformation.