EV ecosystem will get a boost in the region: Swapnil Jain

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Co-Founder of Ather Energy, Swapnil Jain, officially confirmed setting up a plant worth Rs 2,000 crore investment in Bidkin Industrial Estate, a part of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), today.

Addressing the newsmen in the city, Jain underlined the plant in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar will be larger than other plants in India. If all goes well, the production would start after one and a half years or two years. Initially, it will be a production unit and an R&D section will be added later on.”

“ We already have a strong vendor base here. We will be engaging local ancillaries and services for sustainability. We focus on strong engineering. Hence our motto will be to ensure fast charging of batteries, the safety of vehicle and battery, use the latest technology and make available our two-wheeler in the affordable range,” stressed the CTO applauding the industry is very active and existence of automobile sector-base.

Former minister of state (MoS, Finance) MP, Dr Bhagwat Karad said, “ Through the Central Government’s Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), we were actively pursuing with intention to attract investment in Maharashtra and that too in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to be specific. Several meetings were arranged in the presence of Ather Energy at different platforms and government and industry levels during the last two years. I along with former CMIA president Nitin Gupta and present CMIA office-bearers took up the matter strongly and am glad that our efforts are paid off and the company decided to set up their plant on 100 acres of land at Bidkin. Piramal Group, Cosmos Films, and Technocraft will also be investing crores of rupees and setting their industries here.”

CMIA president Dushyant Patil said, “ We are very happy with the development of Ather Energy’s investment here. The plant will provide employment opportunities to 4,000 youths (skilled and non-skilled) in various branches. It will be a boon for the sons of our soil.”

Ather Energy’s Senior Vice President Sanjeev Kumar Singh, Head of Government Relations and Policy, Subrata Mitra, CMIA office-bearers Utsav Machhar, Arpit Save, Atharveshraj Nandawat and others were also present on the dais.

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First to design technology for EV in India: Swapnil Jain

I am an IIT Madras graduate. Along with my colleague Tarun Mehta, we embarked on the journey of Ather Energy in 2013. Initially, it was challenging as barring a few nobody was aware of electric vehicles; their potential, and their prospects. EVs at that time were not cost-effective. We ideated the EV to beat the petrol vehicles and spiraling fuel costs. The launch of our first product Ather 450 in 2018 (Bengaluru) turned out to be a game changer for us. We were the first to design technology in India (battery, software, etc). Today, our presence is in 200 cities of India.

Highlights:

– The Bidkin plant will have one million (10 lakh) units production capacity.

– Huge scope of jobs will be there for youths in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, electronics sectors, etc.

– The company has deposited the first installment for 100 acres of land.

– Will plant 10,000 trees in two phases on the open land at Bidkin.

– The plant will probably have vehicle assembly and battery pack production.