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FAME-II Program Revised with Increased Incentives for Electric Two-Wheelers
The Department of Heavy Industries has announced partial amendments to the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase-II (FAME-II) program. Specific demand incentive for electric two-wheelers (E2W) of ?15,000 (~$205)/kWh has now been announced. Earlier, there was a uniform demand incentive of ?10000 ($137)/KWh for all vehicles. Also, the cap on incentive for E2W has been raised to 40% of the total cost of the vehicles. The cap earlier was 20% for all vehicles including E2W. Demand aggregation is identified as the key to bringing down the upfront cost of electric three-wheeler electrics, on par with the internal combustion engine vehicles for multiple user segments.
RDSO becomes first standards body to join govt's 'One Nation, One Standard' scheme
The Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO), which sets standards for the railway sector, has become the first standards body in the country to join the central government's 'One Nation, One Standard' scheme. RDSO has now been recognized as a 'Standard Developing Organization' by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), which is implementing the scheme. The partnership will help RDSO, the sole R&D wing of the railways ministry, to realign its standard formulation procedures as per the code of good practices mentioned under the WTO-Technical Barriers to Trade (WTO-TBT). The recognition will be valid for three years.
IIIT-H gets first corporate founding partner for Smart City Living lab
International Institute of Information Technology-Hyderabad (IIIT-H) has announced that Silicon Labs, a leading provider of silicon, software and solutions, is the first corporate founding partner for its new Smart City Living Lab. The lab’s mission is to provide a research and development ecosystem for next-generation technologies designed to improve safety, sustainability, energy efficiency, sanitation, and overall quality of life in densifying cities. It is part of the institute’s Smart City Research Center, supported by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Smart Cities Mission, Telangana government, and European Business and Technology Centre.
India’s Trade Performance Resilient during 2020-21
The Indian Economy has shown significant resilience amidst the global pandemic and trade shock that began to impact the global economy towards the end of 2019-20 and acquired catastrophic proportions in 2020-21. Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India said during the virtual media interaction that the cumulative value of overall exports (merchandise & services) during April-March 2020-21 has been estimated at USD 493.19 Billion compared to USD 528.37 Billion during April-March 2019-20, registering a negative growth of (-) 6.66 percent.