top of page

By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

India now tops world in e3w, second in e2W sales

Mumbai : In a commendable feat, India has now tops the world in electric 3-wheeler sales accounting for 57 pc of all global sales, and ranks second in electric 2-wheeler sales with a 6 pc world share in 2024, a new report on Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) transition released as the COP-3) in Brazil.   The COP-30 Progress Update, has attributed these achievements to the strong policies of the Indian government, especially PM E-Drive and FAME, that helped slash the price gaps between electric and...

India now tops world in e3w, second in e2W sales

Mumbai : In a commendable feat, India has now tops the world in electric 3-wheeler sales accounting for 57 pc of all global sales, and ranks second in electric 2-wheeler sales with a 6 pc world share in 2024, a new report on Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) transition released as the COP-3) in Brazil.   The COP-30 Progress Update, has attributed these achievements to the strong policies of the Indian government, especially PM E-Drive and FAME, that helped slash the price gaps between electric and petrol vehicles, pushing large-scale adoption across last-mile transport and encouraging major private investments.   India’s strategy to combat pollution levels has been to target the vehicles most common on its roads – two and three wheelers, which account for nearly 80 pc of the total automobiles sales in the country.   This targeted approach has led to a cycle where more sales encourage more investment, which further accelerates the market, as per the report shared by International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) India.   The PM E-Drive Scheme further boosts adoption by supporting the sale of 2.5 million e2w’s and 320,000 e3w’s, backed by a USD-315 million outlay for vehicles and charging infrastructure.   It has pushed private and public sector to act, like a major delivery company committing to convert its entire fleet into EVs in five years, some state and local governments assuring to partially convert their fleets of official or public transport vehicles to electric.   Even globally, EV adoption is increasing despite policy shifts in some advanced economies. EVs notched18 pc of all global light-duty vehicles in 2024, up from 14 pc in 2023, and likely to go up further this year.   With France, Spain, and Croatia showering more consumer incentives, UK and Canada refining ZEV mandates, the public charging points world over have doubled from 2.50 million (2022) to over 5 million now.   Racing to keep up, India has recorded a 23 pc year-on-year rise in light-duty EV sales from 2023 to 2024 and reaching a 2.9 pc EV share in early 2025.   The COP-30 report has lauded India’s FAME and PM E-Drive programs - and the EU’s AFIR regulation - as major forces speeding up the global move toward zero-emission mobility.   ICCT’s India Managing Director Amit Bhatt emphasized that electrifying India’s dominant vehicle segments is already delivering results. He termed as timely and essential next step the Centre’s fresh push to electrify medium and heavy-duty trucks – which comprise only 3 pc of the total vehicle stock but cough out 44 pc  of transport emissions. Clean & green leaders: India’s e3w & e2W The Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles (FAME) and PM E-Drive programs helped lower the upfront costs of electric 2 wheelers and electric 3 wheelers, making them price-competitive with ICE equivalents.   The transition has been powered by a strong collaboration between government and the private sector, particularly in last-mile delivery, with companies adopting EVs to save costs and working with rental partners to build out the ecosystem.   The quick expansion of EV charging networks in the world is driven by encouraging policies - with Europe’s reliance on deployment targets and India’s use of targeted incentives demonstrating two effective and scalable models, as per the COP-30 coming a day before the global meet ends on Friday.

Breeding ground for Fidayeen, links to Hamas

  • PTI
  • May 8
  • 3 min read
ree

By Sumir Kaul

New Delhi: The banned Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror group's two 'Markaz' (centres) – its Bahawalpur headquarters and Narowal in Pakistan's Punjab – functioned as a breeding ground for suicide attackers, had links with Palestine's Hamas and served as a facility for hoarding smuggled NATO arms from Afghanistan, officials said here on Thursday.


Both these centres located on the opposite ends of Pakistan's Punjab province were among the nine targets hit by missiles launched by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the early hours of Wednesday, in a strong retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, in which 25 tourists and a local guide were gunned down by terrorists.


According to the officials, the Bahawalpur centre of JeM, spread over 15 acres, is run by de-facto chief Abdul Rauf Asgar and the area has residential houses of JeM founder Masood Azhar and other family members.


Masood Azhar acknowledged after the IAF strikes codenamed 'Operation Sindoor' that 10 members of his family and four close associates were killed in India's missile attack on the outfit's headquarters in Bahawalpur.


A statement attributed to Azhar said those killed in the attack on Jamia Masjid Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur included the JeM chief's elder sister and her husband, a nephew and his wife, another niece, and five children from his extended family.


The Bahawalpur centre is notorious for hoarding arms and ammunition left behind by the NATO forces in Afghanistan, the officials said.


Often frequented

They said Bahawalpur is often frequented by JeM commanders who were fighting in Afghanistan, and that Asgar purchases as well as smuggles consignments of weaponry, including M4 series rifles, through a network of criminals based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which was earlier known as North West Frontier Province (NWFP).


Besides the M4 series, the arms and ammunition included sniper rifles, armour-piercing bullets, Night Vision Devices (NVD), and rifles fitted with NVD.


About the centre in Narowal, the officials said the Markaz has been used for learning tactics from the Palestine Hamas group. The involvement of Hamas started in 2014 when one of the Jaish terrorists, Mohammed Adnan Ali, codenamed 'Doctor,' had imparted paraglider training to operatives of another group, Khalistan Tiger Force Ramandeep Singh alias Goldy, in Thailand.


The training was given by Jagtar Singh Tara who was deported to India and his associates Jaswinder Singh Jassa and Mohammad Umar Gondal.


The tactics for use of tunnels for infiltration and paragliding seem to be inspired by the modus operandi used by Hamas in the Middle East, the officials said, adding further that there are multiple inputs about regular interactions of JeM terrorists of JeM with Hamas leaders.


Hamas functionaries

Then, in February this year, senior Hamas functionaries addressed a rally on 'Kashmir Solidarity Day' in Rawalakot, PoK, that had top Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad cadres in attendance.


The rally was addressed by Hamas spokesperson Khalid Qaddoumi, a development Indian agencies saw as an attempt to link the jihadi campaign in Jammu and Kashmir to the Palestinian fight in Kashmir.


The Bahawalpur and Narowal facilities have produced terrorists responsible for multiple suicide attacks in India, including the 2016 strike at the Pathankot IAF base and the 2020 attack in Nagrota.


Among those indoctrinated for these "fidayeen" (suicide) attacks were close relatives of Masood Azhar, specifically his nephew Tallah Rasheed, as well as Usman, Umar, and Mohammed Ismail, also known as 'Lambu'. After being indoctrinated at these facilities, the individuals were reportedly sent to Balakote for arms training.


Comments

bottom of page