KTR launches Telangana’s first plug-and-play EV Park in Zaheerabad

It has an incubation center for EV startups that can leverage MG’s manufacturing capabilities & infrastructure.

Hyderabad: Telangana minister for Industries KT Rama Rao on Wednesday launched Telangana’s first plug-and-play EV Park and two, three-wheeler electric vehicles produced by Vayu Motors and Zero 21 in a function held on Wednesday at MG Automative’s EV Park in Zaheerabad.

EV(Electrical Vehicles) Park is the first of its kind in Telangana. It has an incubation center for EV startups that can leverage MG’s manufacturing capabilities & infrastructure. It is already incubating enterprises like Padmaja Greentech and Zero 21 Renewable Energy Solutions Pvt Ltd.

MG EV Park is interacting with a few other EV startups to help launch their businesses and wants to be a catalyst in developing fossil-free transport solutions, a press note from the EV park informed.

He also unveiled two models of new two-wheelers (scooters), Low-Speed Retro, and High-Speed Pace.

Retro is a city speed scooter designed for Indian conditions. With an LFP battery pack, developed with a smart BMS, Retro is a safe and robust product. The pace is a performance scooter, developed using highly reliable LFP battery pack architecture. With a top speed of 70 kmph, it is the most desirable scooter in terms of safety, design, and reliability, the company said.

These two EV scooters are manufactured using safe and proven LFP(Lithium Ferro Phosphate), Battery packs, it informed.

Four different models of three wheelers were launched under the brand name.

A total of 4 vehicles shall be launched under the brand name Zero 021. This is first of its kind, indigenously designed and developed Fiber Reinforced Plastic 3 wheeler EV Passenger vehicles

The electric three-wheelers include Teer and Smart Mule-X. While the former is a high-speed passenger vehicle and the latter is a good carrier.

Chargers for EVs were also launched for buses and four-wheelers, including fast chargers for buses and cars.

Speaking on the occasion KT Rama Rao congratulated the young entrepreneurs behind today’s launches.

“The future of world transportation will be sustainable Mobility. It will be EV Mobility. The difference between conventional vehicles and electric vehicles is they are computers on wheels. They are battery-driven,” he said.

KTR further said that the automobile industry in the past was concentrated in a few pockets like Chennai and Pune.

“Now thanks to our futuristic EV policy, Zaheerabad is emerging as the hub for not just automobiles but also EV Vehicles. keeping this in mind and the demand for a skilled workforce, we will establish an Automobile Centric Centre of Excellence which will be named after former President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, KTR announced. So that more localities will be automobile job-ready,” he remarked.

Hyderabad: The Telangana government on Wednesday urged the Centre to reconsider its decision to set up a defence industrial production corridor in Uttar Pradesh, saying that Hyderabad-Bengaluru is the ideal location for the project.

Industries Minister K. T. Rama Rao said the Centre should rise above political considerations and political agenda to encourage progressive states like Telangana.

He was speaking after laying the foundation stone for VEM Technologies’s Integrated Defence Systems at National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ), Zaheerabad in Sangareddy district.

He recalled that he had requested then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to approve a defence industrial production corridor between Hyderabad and Bengaluru as they have the required ecosystem for the project.

He pointed out that Hyderabad has many defence public sector undertakings and more than 1,000 small and medium companies, while Bengaluru has HAL and Air Force-related institutions. If a defence industrial production corridor is created here, it will benefit districts like Mahabubnagar, Rangareddy and Wanaparthy in Telangana, Kurnool and Anantapur districts in Andhra Pradesh.

He said that if the defence industry is to gain impetus and a slogan like ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ is to be translated into reality, the Centre should reconsider its decision.

“It should set up the corridor at a place where there is an ecosystem. If you set it up in Uttar Pradesh because you have votes and seats and political preferences there, it won’t work,” he said.

“Even in Hyderabad, this did not happen overnight. The PSUs have been in existence for decades, creating a favourable environment for the growth of the sector,” he said.

KTR also told the Centre that when major global companies come to invest, they look at places where there is infrastructure and they see how soon they get return on investment. “They don’t see states or cities while deciding to invest. They look at the countries and what they offer in terms of infrastructure and ecosystem,” he said.

VEM will invest Rs. 1,000 crore in the facility coming up on 511 acres in NIMZ. This is billed as the largest investment in the private sector in the defence manufacturing industry in India. The unit will employ 2,000 people in the next five years.

VEM is a defence and aerospace company that offers end-to-end technology solutions and systems for various weapon systems for land, air, and naval applications.

One of the top five defence companies in India, VEM will manufacture weapons systems and defence equipment like anti-tank guided missiles, small arms, sniper rifles, unmanned aerial system, underwater weapons systems and radars at their unit at NIMZ.

The work on the unit will start in August and the unit is expected to commence production in 2024-25.

KTR in his letters asked for funds for several initiatives planned by the state government ranging from the establishment of the National Design Centre to the Hyderabad pharma city project.

Hyderabad: Telangana Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Sunday wrote a series of letters to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman and asked for ample allocation of funds for infrastructure development in the upcoming Union budget 2022-23.

The Finance Minister is going to present the budget in the parliament on February 1.

KTR in his letters asked for funds for several initiatives planned by the state government ranging from the establishment of the National Design Centre in the state to the Hyderabad pharma city project.

“As you may recall, we have had repeated interactions regarding setting up of the first National Design Centre (NDC) in Hyderabad. As advised by you, we are not setting up a new greenfield campus for NDC, instead we are now planning to take up some space in the existing building of National Academy of Construction (NAC) for starting the NDC activities. We request your support for the initial capital expenditure mainly towards making the NDC functional through interior works, lab equipment and machinery, IT infrastructure, consultation expenses etc. Thereafter, support on the operational expenditure will be required initially for approximately 8 years, post which the Centre is envisaged to become self-sustaining,” he wrote in the letter.

He then thanked her for the centre for including Hyderabad – Warangal & Hyderabad – Nagpur Industrial Corridors by NICDIT and for considering funding initially two nodes viz., the Hyderabad Pharma City(HPC) and National Industrial Manufacturing Zone(NIMZ), Zaheerabad and further requested that the additional node at Manchirialunder Hyderabad – Nagpur corridor be considered for sanction of funds.

“It is, therefore, requested to include the budget to the extent of at least ₹2,000 Crores for each of the above nodes(2,000 X 3 nodes = 6,000 Crores) under Hyderabad -Warangal, Hyderabad -Nagpur and additional node at Mancherial in the budget estimates for 2022-23 of your esteemed Ministry and oblige,” he said.

In the letter regarding funds for industrial corridors, KTR requested her to include an allocation of at least Rs. 1500 crore for Hyderabad-Bengaluru (HBIC), Hyderabad-Vijayawada (HVIC) industrial corridors, which the state government is very keen to take up.

KTR requested Nirmala Sitaraman to include the city of Hyderabad in the Defence Industrial production corridor that she had recently announced. “I would like you to consider including Hyderabad in the proposed Defence Industrial Production Corridor to augment and support the growth of Defence manufacturing from the State of Telangana,” he said.

“The State already has a vibrant ecosystem in the private sector with several established companies in Aerospace and Defence sector. Several private firms such as Tata Advanced Systems Limited, MTAR, ATL, SEC, ASTRA, VEM, ZEN, HBL, PEL, IDL, etc. have established themselves as manufacturing partners for domestic and foreign OEMs. Several prestigious National Defence and Space programmes were supported by Telangana based industries,” he added.

The industries minister in another letter asked for necessary support for the development of the Hyderabad Pharma City which has already been approved as per the National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZ) scheme of the Central government.

As per this, KTR requested an allocation of Rs 50 crores for the overall concept level masterplan, Rs 1399 crores Towards Road Linkages, Water Supply, Power Supply, Rail Connectivity and Air Strip / Heliport and Rs 3,554 Crores towards ZLD based CETP (INR2023 Cr), Solid Waste Management Facility, internal roads, power infra, water supply, stormwater drains, site development and landscaping.

“I would like to reiterate that Hyderabad Pharma City promises to position India as the global manufacturing hub for pharmaceuticals. In order for the project of this nature and scale to succeed, it is imperative to have strong support from the Government of India,” he said.