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Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Hindustan Times
Upgrades in store for India's highways for EV era
Nearly 5,500 km of key national highway stretches connecting Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Kolkata, and Kolkata-Kanyakumari, are set to be upgraded into electric or e-highways under the National Highways for Electric Vehicles (NHEV), on a public-private partnership (PPP) model. The first set of NHEV's charging stations –– totalling eight with two each in the north, south, east, and west zones –– will be operational by March 2026. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO) Abhijeet Sinha, programme director at NHEV, said that while the primary goal is to provide adequate charging infrastructure, the programme will offer auto-triggered roadside assistance for EVs within 30 minutes in case of a breakdown, clean toilets, and other airport-like amenities at intervals of every 50km on these highways. 'The 'e' not only means electric but also electronic. With the application and installation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices as part of a large V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) infrastructure ecosystem, including cameras and sensors, we will be able to improve law enforcement and cater to emergencies better due to the availability of precise data on location, speed, and condition of the vehicle,' said Sinha. Unlike many developed countries, such as Germany, where overhead catenary wires, as used by electric trains and trams on select lanes of major highways, support charging on the go, NHEV will be operated through charging stations. These stations will function out of way-side amenities (WSAs) on national highways and private land along the road, spaced 50km apart. Each station will have two roadside assistance vehicles and ambulances dedicated specifically for addressing incidents that occur within a 25km radius. Each NHEV station will have 3200 kWh capacity with 36 chargers, EV service centres, toilets, food court, lounges, ATMs, and other commercial facilities such as salons and warehouses. 'Once these stations start functioning, people will stop going to single charging point stations, as there will be a greater reliability and lesser risk of queuing.' The first set of stations, totalling eight with two each on the north, south, east, and west zones, will be operational by March 2026. In addition to catering to highway users, Sinha said these stations will also serve as a logistics hub. 'All goods meant to be dropped within a 50-mile radius can be dropped there for last-mile deliveries, and local produce can be sold in these stations. This, in turn, can potentially create many delivery jobs currently limited to big cities,' he added Initially, these stations will be powered by on-grid power, but soon a mix of off-grid decentralised green power sources, such as solar, hydrogen electrolysers, and wind, will be gradually added in line with India's 2070 net-zero goal, Sinha said. For every 10 stations, three will be owned by power and petroleum PSUs, three by power and petroleum private companies, three by private individuals and family offices, while the state government would own one. Sinha said the ones owned by the state will have a larger area to accommodate a depot of electric buses and trucks. He added that preliminary talks have been held to set up these state government-owned stations/depots in Manesar, Haryana, and Dadri, Uttar Pradesh. Overall, 200 land applications are under review. The NHEV director noted that this model will not require any government subsidy, with each station being profitable through a mix of revenue streams from the different commercial activities, including those from advertising billboards. 'Within 40 months, each station is expected to break even on its initial investment of ₹40-50 crore compared to a 40-year break-even period for government-run chargers,' he said. Akash Singh, a transportation and infrastructure consultant and partner at global consulting firm Kearney, said that NHEV's approach is part of a broader national trend of 'testing first, scaling later' to de-risk public investment. He said by experimenting with models like battery subscription and vehicle-as-a-service in its trials, NHEV addressed one of the most significant adoption barriers, upfront cost, while creating confidence among inter-city operators. Adopting EVs is central to achieving India's commitment to net zero by 2070, with road transport estimated to contribute 12% of all emissions. By 2030, India has set an EV penetration target of 30% in private cars, 70% in commercial vehicles, 40% in buses, and 80% in two-wheelers and three-wheelers. But, EV penetration as of FY 2025 is 7.8%. HT spoke with some EV users who said that, currently, even for highway travel, there is no range anxiety, but they usually plan well ahead about when and where they will stop for charging. Vivek Ahuja, an early adopter of EVs in New Delhi, said he has travelled from Delhi to Shimla, Kasauli, Nainital, and Jaipur on his EV without any issue. 'On highways, every 50 km, there is availability of fast chargers, and there are multiple popular app-based services which provide reliable options for charging.' Another EV user, Nishant Jain, echoed the same sentiment, stating range anxiety is a non-issue currently, as each charge gives an approximate range of 400km. However, as EV adoption increases, public chargers will be needed, particularly for commercial vehicles. Data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers' Associations (FADA) showed that EV sales registered a 29% jump year-on-year in June. Currently, there is one charger for every 235 EVs on the road, according to a July report by CareEdge Analytics and Advisory. The report stated that the underdeveloped charging infrastructure has long been a bottleneck for EV adoption in India. In contrast, leading global EV markets, such as China and Europe, maintain a significantly denser network, with one charger for every 7 to 15 EVs, offering greater convenience and reliability to users. Sinha said NHEV stations will play a key enabling role not only for passenger vehicles but also for heavy-duty vehicles, including trucks, and prevent high queuing.
Hindustan Times
08-08-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Review: Learning to Make Tea for One by Andaleeb Wajid
There are perhaps few emotions as universal, yet as little discussed, as grief. Although religions have built extensive rituals around death and mourning, they are not as preoccupied with coming to grips with grief, relegating it to the realm of the personal. While they do provide structure and direction at a time when everything seems unmoored, grief largely remains an individual struggle and many have to create anew ways to process their loss or help a grieving person. Days of darkness and fear: A Covid-19 Care Centre in New Delhi in May 2021. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO) 232pp, ₹499; Speaking Tiger When grief becomes a collective emotion, it can be even more incapacitating. That was the case during the summer of 2021 in India. As the Covid-19 pandemic's deadly second wave surged across the country, almost everyone knew someone who died or was on the verge of death. Hospitals, graveyards, and crematoriums ran out of space, and bodies piled up. Amid the strict lockdown and social distancing norms, quotidian rituals and coping mechanisms, such as spending time with loved ones, often became impossible. Like many other traumatic events affecting millions of people across India — the demonetisation of high-value rupee notes in 2016, leading to financial difficulties, or daily-wage labourers walking for hundreds of miles after the sudden imposition of a lockdown in 2020 — there seems to be a collective amnesia or, perhaps, wilful forgetting around these events. This is understandable to some extent. Life moves on and it can be unproductive or difficult to dwell on the past. And yet, there is value in memorialising such events and ensuring a collective reckoning. These can help provide closure and reduce the chances of repeating past mistakes. Although there have been a couple of fiction and non-fiction works about Covid-19 in India, Andaleeb Wajid's Learning to Make Tea for One: Reflections on Love, Loss and Healing is, to my knowledge, the only book-length memoir about losing loved ones during the pandemic. While the author's story is deeply personal and does not touch upon the misgovernance and apathy that caused immense suffering, it is nevertheless a powerful reminder of how these forces shaped people's lives — and deaths. In April 2021, everyone in Wajid's house contracted Covid-19, except her younger son, Azhaan. Wajid, her mother-in-law; and her husband, Mansoor, were admitted to Covid-19 wards. While she was eventually discharged, the other two remained hospitalised for weeks, their condition slowly deteriorating. Just before her 24th wedding anniversary, Wajid's mother-in-law died due to complications from the disease. A few days later, Mansoor passed away. But this was not her first brush with death or illness. When she was 12, her father died suddenly after a heart attack. 'For many years, my father's death defined me,' writes Wajid. 'While the tears dried up after the first few months or so after his death, the hollowness refused to be replaced by anything or anyone. I stuck to my tragedy like I meant it to embrace me and never leave me.' She also faced multiple miscarriages, including one where the doctor diagnosed that her baby had been dead in utero for more than 15 days. LISTEN: Remembering not to forget - Andaleeb Wajid on the Books & Authors podcastThe memoir not only delves into grief but also other formative life experiences. Wajid got married in college — her father had arranged it to her cousin before his own death. Women in her family did not work as their husbands were expected to provide for them. But to cope with the multiple miscarriages, she started applying for jobs — five years after she finished college. A memoir of this kind must have been harrowing to write. Yet, Wajid is powerful and poignant throughout. She is strikingly honest, even where it might have been difficult to talk publicly about personal matters. After a tragedy of this sort, one would give allowance to a person to indulge in self-pity or navel-gazing. Yet, Wajid is measured, not maudlin, despite the many sorrowful passages. She also does not eulogise Mansoor or turn him into a larger-than-life persona. She wonders, '...what he would think of this entire exercise, of me writing down my experiences of what happened to us, how our family was fractured and torn apart.' Her guess? He would be 'plain embarrassed'. One of the interesting aspects Wajid highlights is the gendered nature of grief. She writes about how 'men are allowed to move on and live their lives, get a fresh start, and women are just expected to live each day as it comes. To just keep surviving.' Thus, women have to 'keep moving on, but not moving on too much either'. Interestingly, many of the published personal recollections of the pandemic in India have been authored by women, though the number of such works is too few to glean common threads. Author Andaleeb Wajid (Courtesy the publisher) While Wajid had not set out to be an author and her writing journey was knotty, her prolificity — nearly 50 books in 15 years — is remarkable. As has been the case for many, writing became a form of therapy. 'Where it had been a form of escapism before, a way to make the lives of my characters far more interesting than the life I led, it became a way for me to cope with loss,' she explains. Her faith also helped her on her grieving journey. She describes her pilgrimage to Makkah with her sons after Mansoor's death: '... it healed something inside me that I thought had been broken and even shattered beyond repair.' Another thing that gave her peace was crocheting. While there might be as many ways of grieving as grievers, Wajid's memoir is an exemplar of the most universal way — memorialising people through words, elegies, and physical markers, such as gravestones or urns. As Wajid writes, 'Every time a reviewer for my books refers to me as Wajid, I feel a little lurch inside, as if they're talking about him [her father]. And every time my family sees his name next to mine on the many books I've written and published, I know it feels like he lives on.' Syed Saad Ahmed is a journalist and communications professional. In 2024, he was selected as a Boston Congress of Public Health Thought Leadership Fellow. He speaks five languages and has taught English in France.
Hindustan Times
06-08-2025
- Automotive
- Hindustan Times
Over 1.5 crore vehicles yet to install HSRP as Aug 15 deadline nears
Pune: Despite third deadline extension, more than 1.5 crore vehicle owners across Maharashtra have still not affixed the mandatory high security registration plates (HSRP) on vehicles registered before April 1, 2019. The widespread non-compliance has raised concerns within the transport department with question raised of likely another extension to the August 15 last date. Pune, India - June 13, 2023: Traffic jam due to tanker overturned in an accident on the BRT line Chandan nagar Nagar Road in Pune, India, on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. (Photo by Rahul Raut/HT PHOTO) Launched in December 2024, the deadline of March 31, 2025, was first extended to April 30, and then to June 30. According to the state transport department, of the 2.10 crore vehicles in the state, only 39.5 lakh (18.85%) has HSRP plates till August 1. The implementation of HSRP on vehicles faced several setbacks due to limited skilled manpower, insufficient installation centres, and technical glitches by the three designated companies, said officials on Tuesday. Shailesh Kamat, joint transport commissioner, said, 'While around 58 lakh vehicle owners have registered for HSRP and scheduled appointments, nearly 50 lakh vehicles could have been sold, scrapped, involved in accidents, or moved to other states. Strict action will be taken against owners of non-compliant vehicles found on roads after the current deadline.' The department has issued instructions to regional transport offices (RTOs) to verify whether vehicle has HSRP plate installed before processing request related to transfer of ownership, address changes, loan clearances, fitness certificates, or renewal. Vivek Bhimanwar, state transport commissioner, said, 'There's still no final decision on further extending the deadline. Public response is poor despite multiple chances.'
Hindustan Times
03-08-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Over 8.8 million students secure class 11 admission across state
MUMBAI: After four rounds of the Centralised Admission Process (CAP) for First Year Junior College (FYJC), 884,373 students out of 1,438,894 applicants across Maharashtra have secured admission into Class 11. The remaining students will get another chance in the upcoming 'Open for All' round, which is expected to be held next week. Representational photo of candidates looking at results. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO) According to the School Education Department, 72,642 students got admission in the fourth round. Officials clarified that students who have not been allotted a college in any of the previous rounds, or those who wish to change their admission, might participate in this special round. 'In the 'Open for All' round, students can apply to colleges where seats are still vacant,' said an official from the education department. 'The detailed schedule for this round will be shared on Sunday on the official FYJC admission website.' Despite completing four rounds, nearly 39% of the total applicants are still waiting for college allotment. In the Mumbai division alone, about 50,000 students are yet to get admitted. An official explained, 'Some students did not get admission because they selected only a few specific colleges while filling out their preferences. Now, they will get a chance to select from colleges where seats are still available, based on their marks.' The education department has advised students to be careful while submitting their applications. They will need to fill in their details, attach their mark sheet, and list the colleges they prefer in order of choice. The selected college will also verify and confirm this information online.
Hindustan Times
02-08-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
PMC seeks citizens' suggestions in budgetary allocation
Pune: In a major push toward participatory governance, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has appealed to citizens to suggest developmental works and civic improvements for the upcoming 2026–2027 municipal budget. The civic body has opened a public window from August 1 to September 1, 2025 to receive proposals directly through respective ward offices. Pune, India - Oct. 7, 2019: Pune Skyline (Yogesh Joshi story) in Pune, India, on Monday, October 7, 2019. (Photo by Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO) The initiative enables citizens to influence budgetary planning at the grassroots level by suggesting works related to roads, sanitation, public amenities and infrastructure. The idea of citizen-centric budget planning was first championed by NGO Janwani during 2006–2007 laying the foundation for structured public participation in urban governance. According to the civic administration, a budgetary allocation up to ₹75 lakh can be made in one ward depending on the nature of the work and for two-member wards, worth ₹50 lakh can be proposed, ₹25 lakh for one ward. The absence of elected corporators since 2022 is directly affecting infrastructure development, particularly at the ward level, where most civic works fall under the said budget bracket. These minor but essential work such as footpath repairs, drainage cleaning, streetlight installations, and road patchwork are recommended and monitored by corporators. Civic rights activist Ashok Mehendale said, 'The works can be suggested by any citizen, but most people are unaware. The deadline for submitting suggestions is October 10. In the absence of corporators, it's important that citizens take charge and ensure their local priorities are communicated to PMC.' He emphasised the need for better public awareness and facilitation by the civic body to make citizen-driven process more accessible. Naval Kishore Ram, Pune municipal commissioner, said, 'This is an opportunity for participative governance. Citizens can directly shape the kind of development they want to see in their neighbourhoods.'
