UK Govt releases a roadmap for establishing an Intelligent Mobility Skill Centre in Bengal

Kolkata, Nov 21 (Representative) The UK Government on Tuesday released a roadmap for establishing an Intelligent Mobility Skill Centre in West Bengal during a session on “Building a Net Zero Future”. The session was organised by the British Deputy High Commission, Kolkata, in collaboration with Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry here.The roadmap was released in the presence of Firhad Hakim, State Minister-in-Charge, Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department, Government of West Bengal and Mayor of Kolkata and Anoop Agrawal, Principal Secretary, Department of Technical Education, Training and Skill Development (TET &SD), Government of West Bengal along with Andrew Flemming, British Deputy High Commissioner, Kolkata; Anna Shotbolt, Deputy Trade Commissioner (Trade Policy, Exports and Economics), South Asia and Gautam Ray, President, Bengal Chamber of Commerce Industry. Eleven UK companies focussing on areas like Renewable Energy, Sustainable Infrastructure, Waste and Water Management, Net Zero Standards, and Air Pollution have attended the session. Over the last 30 years, UK has been at the forefront of the transition to green – demonstrating that economic growth is aligned with protecting the climate and environment. The UK delegation will be travelling to two cities – Kolkata and Chennai. Over the five days in the two cities, the delegation will be participating in Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata and Green Building Congress in Chennai.

At the UK Country Session, the delegates got a platform to learn more about how companies in India can collaborate with their UK counterparts to help promote a Net Zero Economy and ensure clean growth. Anna Shotbolt, Deputy Trade Commissioner for South Asia, said: “I am delighted to be attending the UK Net Zero session ahead of the Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata. With the UK and India committed to undertaking sustainable development, I see a great potential for collaboration between the two countries. As the first G7 country to set into law a net zero emissions target by 2050, the UK is a genuine climate pioneer.” “Meaningful progress on this commitment is already underway, with a commitment of 78% reduction by 2035. Our ambitious Build Back Greener and UK’s Ten Point Plan set out the UK Government’s proposals for promoting economic growth through trade and investment, while mitigating the impact on climate, preserving the environment, and adapting to the impacts of climate-change.  The UK’s construction, real estate, energy, and transport sectors are right in heart of this ambition,” Shotbolt added.Dr. Andrew Fleming, British Deputy High Commissioner to East and Northeast India said, “I am delighted to hear about West Bengal’s pioneering effort to transition to a clean economy. West Bengal’s achievement in electrification of the public transportation system is internationally recognised. And as the Government of West Bengal marches ahead with it plans to implement its ambitious Electric Vehicles Policy, today the UK is pleased to launch a Roadmap for establishing an Intelligent Mobility Skill Centre in West Bengal, a first-of-its-kind in India.”

“Developed in partnership with the Department of Technical Education, Training & Skill Development, Government of West Bengal under the ASPIRE programme, based on the best practices from the UK, the Centre, once established will boost innovation, build capacity, create new jobs, enhance trade and contribute to the Net Zero targets. We strongly believe that the partnership will make the transition faster, affordable and accessible to all,” Fleming said. Gautam Ray, President, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce Industry in his address said, “The Bengal Chamber is greatly passionate about sustainability and net zero and advocates to integrate the same with core business decisions. With this objective, The Chamber has created the BCC&I Sustainability Forum, which will take initiatives towards SDGs 2030 with the guidance from a high powered committee.” “The Bengal Chamber organizes workshops regularly on areas like ESG, Decarbonization, Circular Economy to hand hold members and stakeholders in their transition journey.

The Bengal Chamber is taking its initiatives on Net Zero to the districts of Bengal covering the Industrial Regions. The Bengal Chamber is also organizing the Session on “Sustainability” in BGBS tomorrow as part of the sectoral sessions,” Ray added. Under the ASPIRE project the UK Company NPTC Wales and Snap E (electric taxi provider in the city, which has also signed up to the UK-led Zero Emission Vehicles Declaration/ Accelerating to Zero Coalition) has joined up and are working with the West Bengal Government to provide training to women so that they are able to drive electric cabs. This will enable them to earn livelihood while reducing air pollution and emissions. Under UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transition), the UK Government is engaging with the West Bengal Department of Transport Corporation on Knowledge Exchange on strategies for accelerating adoption of clean mobility and designing of low emission spaces in collaboration with CENEX UK based on best practices from the UK.