Govt approves $1.3 billion in subsidies for EVs

India will give ₹109 billion ($1.3 billion) in subsidies for the adoption of electric vehicles. The PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement, or PM E-DRIVE scheme will give subsidies worth ₹36.79 billion on e-two wheelers, e-three wheelers, e-ambulances and e-trucks, Reuters reported.

The newswire said adoption of EVs is still low in India, but is on the rise as companies get incentives to build vehicles and parts in the country. In a first, ₹5 billion will be doled out to deploy e-ambulances under the scheme, according to a government statement cited by the newswire. The report said replacement of trucks – a major source of air pollution in the country – will be incentivised with an outlay of ₹5 billion for e-trucks. Additional subsidies will be given in return for scrapping old trucks.

Amid dropping sales, Tata, MG Motors lure EV buyers with free charging and battery rental plan

Tata Motors is offering free charging and steep discounts, while rival MG Motor launched its first battery rental plan, in strategies aimed at boosting sales of electric cars, reported Reuters. Electric vehicles (EVs) account for 2% of India’s annual sales of 4.2 million cars, but sales are dropping, which analysts attribute to high prices and lack of charging facilities.

According to the report, the ”Battery-as-a-Service” plan will effectively cost ₹3.5 (4 U.S. cents) a km, though customers will need to pay for a monthly minimum of 1,500 km (932 miles) in the scramble to ensure a low initial acquisition cost.

India’s biggest EV maker, Tata Motors sold only 4,086 EVs in August, down nearly 15% from a year earlier, in a fourth successive month of annual decline in the world’s third-largest auto market, the report pointed out. 

PM Modi pitches India to chip makers, talks of supply chain resilience

Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised the importance of resilient supply chains for boosting investments in domestic manufacturing of semiconductors, which will cater to the new, growing industries from smartphone and EV manufacturing to AI, reported The Hindu. With investments totalling nearly ₹1.5 lakh crore, this follows in the footsteps of the Union Cabinet, which approved a ₹3,300 crore semiconductor unit to be set up in Sanand, Gujarat, by Kaynes Semicon Pvt Ltd, according to a report by ET Energyworld. With an estimated capacity of producing 60 lakh chips a day, this will bolster the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM). Parallely, ISM has also partnered with the US Department of State, to explore semiconductor manufacturing capacities together, reported The Hindustan Times. Stepping away from the subcontinent, there’s been developments in Europe concerning semiconductors. Chip industry group ESIA asked the European Union for more support and speed in administering that aid, including less export restrictions, and increasing focus on regions where European companies have business advantages, reported Reuters.

Global data centre industry to emit 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2 through 2030, says Morgan Stanley

There’s an unprecedented rise in data centres coming up in different parts of the world. But this boom has an opportunity cost: it is expected to produce about 2.5 billion metric tonns of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions globally through the end of the decade, according to research by Morgan Stanley, which was reported by Reuters. But this is also expected to drive investments in decarbonization efforts, according to Morgan Stanley’s research, as Big Tech companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon are also holding onto their pledges of cutting emissions from their centres by 2030.

Publish data on ride-hailing apps ‘to cut exploitation and emissions’, say campaigners

Campaign group Worker Info Exchange said ride-hailing firms such as Uber should reveal data on driver miles to cut exploitation and help boost wages of drivers, reported The Guardian. This will further cut carbon emissions. An analysis conducted by them suggested that gig drivers may have lost around £1.2 billion in wages and costs in 2023, as their compensation is dependent on miles covered during rides, and not while travelling to reach passengers. Their analysis suggested that drivers are not paid for almost 40% of the miles they cover.

AI likely to hurt oil prices over the next decade, says Goldman Sachs

As artificial intelligence creeps into the oil sector, it will potentially boost productivity and improve efficiency through better logistics and increasing the amount of profitably recoverable resources. But this could result in dipping oil prices, according to Goldman Sachs. A report by Reuters quoted their calculations, saying about 30% of the costs of a new shale well could potentially be reduced by AI. This could lead to decreasing incomes of major oil producers like the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+.

UK building an alarm system for climate tipping points

In a future forward move, the Advanced Research and Invention Agency announced funding of £81 million for scientific teams looking for probable signs of spiralling climate shifts, reported the MIT Technology Review. The end goal of the five-year programme is to reduce scientific uncertainty about the timings of extreme climatic events, when they can potentially develop, and their possible effect on the world. Currently, there doesn’t exist any such system which can set off alarm bells ringing before a climate calamity strikes.

Using climate-smart tech to access safe drinking water in rural Uganda

Communities in rural Uganda now have access to clean water through an innovative pay-per-fetch system that uses a digital tag, while saving on the maintenance costs of boreholes, according to a video report by DW. Developed by a native engineer, this system acts like a prepaid mobile recharge, and people who have credit can get clean water of around 3,000 litres for the equivalent of $1. On the urban front, a jerrycan powered by solar, is helping improve water sanitation in the slums of the capital Kampala.

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