{"id":158293,"date":"2022-05-26T04:23:24","date_gmt":"2022-05-26T04:23:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=158293"},"modified":"2022-05-26T04:23:24","modified_gmt":"2022-05-26T04:23:24","slug":"how-niti-aayog-got-5-cities-to-agree-to-new-purchase-model-of-e-buses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/business\/how-niti-aayog-got-5-cities-to-agree-to-new-purchase-model-of-e-buses\/","title":{"rendered":"How NITI Aayog got 5 cities to agree to new purchase model of e-buses"},"content":{"rendered":"
NITI Aayog plans to consolidate with more states to procure electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers by pushing the use of this procurement platform.<\/strong><\/p>\n The recently concluded procurement of 5,450 electric buses — the largest so far in India — is set to change the way state transport authorities operate buses.<\/p>\n Five cities — Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Surat — ceded their power of procurement and agreed to a different procurement model to operate state-run buses.<\/p>\n The Centre’s policy thinktank, NITI Aayog, brought these cities\/states and all stakeholders on a common procurement portal, which harmonised standards and specifications for the procurement that helped in aggregating demand.<\/p>\n Moving away from the “inefficient” own-and-operate model, city governments decided to “procure, maintain and run” buses over a 12-year period by charging the discovered price of per-kilometre operations.<\/p>\n Electricity cost, and fuel of these buses, were bundled into the bid price.<\/p>\n State governments will be responsible for handling of depots and electricity connection to the operators.<\/p>\n This helped in discovering lowest price to run such buses, making them 15-20 per cent cheaper than combustion buses.<\/p>\n The procurement allows state agencies to purchase mobility as a service (MaaS) and operators are paid a fixed price in rupees per kilometre over a period of time.<\/p>\n The initiative is an example of power of aggregation of demand, said Amitabh Kant, chief executive officer (CEO) at NITI Aayog.<\/p>\n “This demonstrates that when India uses its size and scale to procure goods through cutting-edge technology, prices fall radically,” Kant told Business Standard<\/em>.<\/p>\n Getting states together on the same page for procurement of this size was a result of marathon meetings, but now it reflects India’s cooperative federalism as advocated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kant said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The drafting of the tender document for the procurement, and shaping of the business model was done by NITI Aayog through its National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage.<\/p>\n The tender drafted included standardisation of specifications, terminal and charging stations.<\/p>\n It was made attractive by including a term of 12 years, with assured kilometre of 10 lakh per bus, along with a credible payment security system that encouraged robust participation and aggressive bidding.<\/p>\n Tata Motors had emerged as the lowest bidder for the tender in the auction that concluded last month.<\/p>\n The lowest price discovered for a 12-meter bus was Rs 43.49\/km, and a 9-metre bus is Rs 39.21\/km. This represents a 48 per cent reduction as compared to a past tender.<\/p>\n These prices will set a benchmark for public transport, which will now encourage other cities to adopt electric vehicles.<\/p>\n This is bound to redefine a new way of mobility for Indian cities, making deployment of e-buses at an affordable rate, Kant said.<\/p>\n The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME-II) scheme has helped bring down prices as it provides capital subsidy of up to Rs 55 lakh per electric bus, narrowing the cost differential with traditional diesel\/CNG buses.<\/p>\n “The fall in prices of electric buses is path-breaking, the same was earlier done for LEDs,” Kant said.<\/p>\n NITI Aayog plans to consolidate with more states to procure electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers by pushing the use of this procurement platform, he added.<\/p>\n The wider adoption of electric vehicles will help India in meeting its climate change goals announced in COP-26, Kant said.<\/p>\n Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale\/Rediff.com<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n