Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and New and Renewable Energy Prahlad Joshi said on Tuesday that he has asked Uber to play a bigger role in helping drivers and fleet owners switch to electric vehicles, adding that the move is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s broader push to promote clean mobility.
On the sidelines of the CII 2026 annual business summit, the minister said the talks with Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, also covered consumer issues, according to an ANI report.
What did Prahlad Joshi say?
“He came to meet me. I told him two things. Being one of the biggest networks, I asked him and insisted that he should support Uber’s people, drivers and fleet owners to convert to EVs,” Joshi said.
Joshi said the meeting also looked at consumer issues and the need to follow government guidelines meant to protect the interests of consumers. He further pointed to Prime Minister Modi’s call to promote the use of solar pumps and expand the deployment of renewable energy.
“There were some issues related to consumer affairs. We told them that consumer interest is paramount. They agreed and said they will check everything themselves and get back to us,” he said.
“The PM talked about solar pumps and also about EVs. We have already given a big push for solar pumps under the PM Kusum scheme,” Joshi added.
He noted that the government has launched PM-KUSUM 2.0 to expand the scope of the programme.
Joshi said charging electric vehicles during the day using electricity generated from rooftop solar systems can substantially reduce operating costs.
“And also electric cars, when they charge with solar on the roof during the day, then the cost per mile is so attractive that nobody switches to conventional vehicles,” he noted.
Addressing the participants of the CII Annual Business Summit 2026, the minister also said that India maintains a good position despite global uncertainty and highlighted the country’s continued progress in the energy sector.
“India is quite safe in the current world circumstances,” he declared.
Joshi said India’s installed renewable energy capacity has reached 288 GW, with the government aiming to increase it to 500 GW by 2030.
He noted that the country recently met a peak electricity demand of 256 GW without interruption, which contrasts with the large-scale blackout in northern India in July 2012, when demand reached 123 GW.
Joshi added that despite reports of a 7% decline in global investment in renewable energy, India continues to attract massive investment in the sector.
