India Post has launched e-vehicles for doorstep delivery in Maharashtra. This is the first time in Maharashtra, that the Postal service is using electric vehicles, especially for large consignments. The first batch of the electric vehicles will be available in Chinchwad East Post Office located in the Pune region, from its nodal delivery center.
“We launched this initiative as our commitment to leveraging the substantial environmental benefits and also in accordance with the Electric Vehicle Policy envisaged by the central government. If the pilot initiative proves to be successful, we will look at extending it to many other post offices in Pune city,” said G Madhumita Das, Postmaster General, Pune Region, according to The Indian Express.
Earlier, last year in November, India Post launched an ‘intelligent’ parcel delivery pilot service in Pune through which IT professionals in Wakad, Hinjawadi, and Maan localities can collect their missed home delivery parcels at any time of the day using a One Time Password (OTP). The Infotech Post Office located in Phase-I of Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park installed ANVIT, the Pune division’s first intelligent parcel delivery system. The machine has 14 boxes capable of storing parcels of varying sizes and weights at a time for seven days. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government recently boosted electric mobility with the proposal to set up 5,000 new EV charging stations in the next three years. This is to support the growing number of EV purchases in Maharashtra, which have climbed since the state’s EV Policy was rolled out in 2021.
Promoting EVs
Back in February, Maharashtra is seen promoting electric vehicles. The state announced that it will offer companies like Amazon.com Inc and Uber new incentives to electrify their delivery fleets ahead of a 2025 target for cleaner air, its environment minister told Reuters.
One of India’s richest states and home to the financial hub of Mumbai, Maharashtra is an important market for e-commerce, ride-hailing, and food delivery companies. Last year, it set a target for such companies to electrify 25% of their fleet by 2025. “We are trying to be on the earlier side of 2025 and see if companies can get certain more incentives and move sooner. This not only benefits us in terms of cleaner air but also benefits them in terms of economies and their revenue models,” said, Aaditya Thackeray. Companies the state is likely to approach in the next month include Amazon, Uber, Walmart’s Flipkart, Softbank Group-backed ridesharing firm Ola and food-delivery companies Zomato and Swiggy.