Why in news? 

Karnataka Minister of Energy, Kannada and Culture Sunil Kumar along with British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis launched an electric vehicle awareness portal called ‘EV Jagruthi’.

About the portal:

• The portal is a result of a joint initiative by NITI Aayog, Karnataka government and the government of United Kingdom (UK).
• It has been created for awareness about electric mobility in Karnataka and aims to serve as a ‘one-stop site’ to provide all the information related to the adoption of electric vehicles in the state.
• By providing access to state-specific information about e-mobility, the portal aims to assist users to switch to electric vehicles by providing insights about the state’s targets, incentives, support mechanisms and initiatives regarding electric mobility.
• The portal is accessible through different devices such as PCs, mobile phones and tablets and includes support for assistive technologies such as screen readers.
• The EV Jagruthi portal caters to the needs and priorities of a diverse set of stakeholders, including but not limited to future electric vehicle users, early electric vehicle adopters, government, academia, the research community, industry, businesses house and consultants.
• A report titled ‘Roadmap for transformation of Bengaluru to a Global EV Lighthouse City in India’ was also released on the occasion.

About the report

• The report represents a roadmap for Bengaluru to become a global EV lighthouse city in India.
• It first gives an insight on the need of mobility in Bengaluru, which is followed by its potential to become a Global EV Lighthouse City in India. Thereafter, a brief is given about the key challenges faced by the city’s transportation system and the barriers for electric vehicle adoption, which helps to gain an understanding of the rationale for the transition strategy that is being suggested. This report, thereafter, represents a short, medium and long-term phased strategy for Bengaluru to become a global EV lighthouse city in India.
• In parallel, it showcases the learnings from best practices of electric mobility from the United Kingdom. Finally, the report gives recommendations on accessing innovative finance, electric mobility innovation centres, EV accelerator cells, and gender and inclusion.

• The report also gives suggestions on accessing innovative finance, electric mobility innovation centers, EV accelerator cells and gender and inclusion.