Electric freight vehicles, especially medium and heavy-duty trucks, are crucial for reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality, Kerala’s Minister for Electricity, K. Krishnankutty, has said. He made the remarks at a workshop titled “Driving Kerala’s E-Truck Ecosystem with the PM E-DRIVE Scheme,” organised by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). 
The minister underscored that accelerating the adoption of electric freight vehicles is essential to controlling pollution from road transport, particularly as logistics demand grows with the development of new ports and logistics parks. Electric trucks, he noted, can contribute to both environmental protection and industrial growth by lowering emissions while supporting efficient freight movement. 
As part of efforts to expand charging infrastructure, Krishnankutty inaugurated a new web portal developed by KSEB to invite expressions of interest from operators looking to install EV charging stations on private land. The platform aims to fast-track the implementation of infrastructure under the PM E-DRIVE programme, which is designed to build charging facilities along key transport corridors. 
The workshop brought together government officials, utilities, logistics operators and industry stakeholders to discuss the challenges and opportunities in freight electrification. According to Krithika P. R., Programme Lead at ICCT, electrifying freight is not only critical for environmental sustainability but also for enhancing the competitiveness of India’s logistics sector by reducing operating costs and emissions. 
Kerala has made notable progress in electric vehicle adoption, with more than 300,000 EVs registered in the state and electric vehicles accounting for more than 10 per cent of new vehicle sales, a milestone attributed in part to the state’s 2019 EV policy. 
