Inaugurating the MOVE Global Summit here on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India, with its young and digitally literate population, is best placed to surge ahead in the mobility sector.

“Mobility is the next frontier in our fight against climate change. Better mobility can provide for better jobs, smarter infrastructure and improve quality of life. It can also reduce costs, expand economic activity and protect the planet. Thus, the mobility sector impacts larger public outcomes,” he said.

India has an advantage because of rapidly transforming mobility paradigm and its starting point is fresh, we will have ‘little of the legacy of resource-blind mobility,’ he stated.

A window of opportunity

“We have fewer vehicles per capita than other major economies. Thus, we do not carry much of the baggage of other economies that were built on the back of private car ownership! This gives us a window of opportunity to create an all-new, seamless mobility ecosystem,” he said.

On the technology front, India’s strengths lay in information technology, big data, digital payments and the internet-enabled shared economy. These elements are increasingly becoming the drivers of the global future of mobility, Modi said.

“Our renewable energy push will ensure that the environmental benefits of electric mobility can be fully realised. We plan to draw 175 GigaWatts of energy from renewables by 2022,” Modi said.

Urging the youth of the nation to also use shared mobility, Modi said: “We must leverage the full potential for vehicle pooling and other innovative technical solutions to improve private vehicle utilisation. People from villages should be able to bring their produce to the cities with ease and efficiency. This shift will be based on ‘Caring for our World’, and ‘Sharing with Others’.”

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