Vol. 65 No. 320 | SATURDAY | MAY 14, 2022 | 16 Pages | EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, Konkan, E-paper EXPORTS UP 31% TO $40 BILLION IN APRIL; TRADE DEFICIT WIDENS TO $20 BILLION EDIT TO EXCEL, LANGUAGE DOESN’T MATTER, SHARES OSCAR-WINNING MUSIC COMPOSER AR RAHMAN 27 DEAD IN DELHI INFERNO HISTORY, A MINEFIELD FOR HINDUTVA FORCES FPJ NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI booster shot for Mumbai SANJAY JOG Mumbai After two major power failures in October 2020 and February 2022 in Mumbai, the state government has finally cleared the implementation of 80km +/-320 kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line between Kudus and Aarey Colony to be built by Adani Electricity Mumbai Infra (AEMI). This will help evacuate 1000MW power from outside to meet the ever-rising demand for power in Mumbai. According to the energy department deputy , secretary Prashant Badgeri, in the government order, “The project will be developed on build, own, operate and maintain basis. The project has been cleared under section 68 of the Electricity Act, 2003, and it will be mandatory for Adani Electricity Mumbai Infra to implement it as per the conditions.” CONTD. ON NATION PAGE EV PLAN SHORT-CIRCUIT Musk puts Tesla plans to sell EVs in India on hold SANJAY JOG Mumbai FILE PIC 1,000MW No less than 27 lives were snuffed out after a massive fire broke out in a 4-storey office building near pillar number 544 of Mundka metro station in west Delhi. The rescue and search operation was still underway when reports last trickled in on Friday night. Information about the blaze was received at 4.40 pm. It was panic stations when the local police reached the spot and broke windows to extricate those trapped inside. Around 60-70 people were rescued, the police said, adding some people were still trapped inside. Of them, more than 40 sustained burn injuries and have been hospitalized. The third floor of the ill-fated building was still to be accessed and casualties were expected to mount. Initially 25 fire tenders were rushed to the , spot to control the situation. But the fire was yet to be extinguished at 11 pm and the entire building has enveloped in smoke. Multiple companies were using office space in the building. The fire broke out on the first floor, which serves as an office for a company that manufactures CCTV cameras and routers. The owner of the company has been detained by the police. BJP leader Manoj Tiwari blamed the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi for the incident. He tweeted in Hindi, "Has this become the destiny of Delhiites under the Aam Aadmi Party? Every year such accidents happen in Delhi but Kejriwal government is not doing anything." ‘‘Distressed by the tragic fire accident at a building near Mundka Metro Station in Delhi. My condolences to the bereaved families. I wish for the speedy recovery of the injured," President Ram Nath Kovind’s office  tweeted. Union minister Nitin Gadkari’s ambitious plan to turn India into an EV power hub received a blow on Friday after the Elon Muskowned Tesla put on hold its plans to sell electric cars in India, abandoned its search for showroom space and reassigned some of its domestic team after failing to secure lower import taxes. The decision is an outcome of more than a year of deadlocked talks with government representatives as Tesla sought to first test the Indian market by selling electric vehicles imported from production hubs in the United States and China, at lower tariffs. But the Indian government wanted Tesla to commit to manufacturing locally before it lowers the tariffs, which can be as high as 100% on imported vehicles. Tesla had set itself a deadline of February 1 but the gridlock persisted despite hectic lobbying. Gadkari had announced that the government was aiming for 30 per cent electric vehicle sales penetration in private cars, about 70 per cent for commercial vehicles and 80 per cent for two and threewheelers by 2030. Gadkari had also said that should the adoption of EVs in two-wheelers and car segment surge by 40 per cent and if almost 100 per cent of the buses were electric by 2030, it would help India reduce its consumption of crude oil by 156 million tonnes or save Rs 3.5 lakh crore. Industry experts said had Musk agreed to manufacture EVs in India, instead of importing them from China, it would have helped EV prices drop in the next two years. Gadkari recently said, “If Elon Musk is ready to manufacture in India, then there is no problem. Come to India, start manufacturing, India is a large market, they can export from India.” CONTD. ON NATION PAGE 320c. 290c. Sunrise: 06:05 am Sunset : 07:04 pm