Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a retrofit electric bus on Dec 21, 2015, an initiative taken by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for providing clean, pollution-free transport for the Members of Parliament. The bus is converted from diesel to electric and is battery-operated.
The Prime Minister briefly visited the bus and handed over the keys to the Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
Speaking at the launch, the Prime Minister said, “The environment had been a topic of discussion for long, but in recent times, the impact of damage to the environment is being felt by the common man.”
The Prime Minister also talked about the recently held CoP-21 Summit at Paris and told about the two initiatives that have been taken there. One of these is ‘Mission Innovation’ that has been jointly launched by the US, France and India with the help of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to work towards development of green technologies. The other is the creation of the International Solar Alliance of countries blessed with abundant sunlight. The Headquarters of this alliance will be in Delhi, informed the Prime Minister.
For the launch of the bus, the Prime Minister appreciated the efforts of the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari. He also urged the entrepreneurs to work towards producing cheap and efficient batteries in India, which could lead to clean public transportation.
