Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has purchased a fleet of 31 petrol cars for its divisional controllers and senior officers much against the states mandate to buy e-vehicles for government establishments.The purchase has raised many an eyebrow.Meanwhile, to effectively implement the Electric Vehicle (EV) policy introduced in July 2021, the state government had decided to purchase or rent only EVs for use by government departments, urban local bodies and municipal corporations from January 1, 2022.Former president of the Chamber of Marathwada Industries and Agriculture (CMIA) Prasad Kokil, who promotes EVs in the region, said government and semi-government establishments should lead by example while promoting the policy.The MSRTC has large spaces available in its depots and bus stands to put up charging stations and other ecosystems required for EVs. Such an ecosystem, if developed, could have been used by others also, he said.An MSRTC spokesperson said some government establishments whose officials have to undertake extensive travel for official reasons have been exempted from the mandatory purchase of EVs.Divisional controllers have to travel in the range of up to 300 km. Official tours also include visiting rural areas. Therefore, purchase of cars running on traditional fuel is preferred by the top brass instead of EVs, the spokesperson said.Notably, the state transport department is among 16 government departments for which the state has made EVs mandatory. However, a group of government, semi-government and other state-run establishments has been exempted from such mandatory purchases due to the limited range of batteries of EVs.Asked about the state transport department, under whose ambit MSRTC comes, purchasing EVs, the MSRTC spokesperson requested to contact competent authorities from the Dapodi depot in Pune from where the bulk purchase of cars had happened. The authorities concerned could not be reached for comment till late Saturday.We also published the following articles recentlyMaratha quota stir: 13 MSRTC buses damaged since Sunday, 30 depots shutProtests demanding job and educational reservations for the Maratha community in Maharashtra have led to the damage of at least 13 buses in the past 48 hours. The state-run transport corporation has suspended operations in 30 out of its 250 depots due to the incidents. Protests have been taking place in various regions of the state, including a hunger strike by activist Manoj Jarange, and localized demonstrations preventing leaders from entering villages until their stance on Maratha community reservations is clarified.Manipal Group invests in Purplle with a secondary purchase from JSW VenturesManipal Group chairman Ranjan Pais family office has invested in beauty retailer Purplle through a secondary transaction, purchasing shares from JSW Ventures. This sale marks JSW Ventures exit from its stake in Purplle, which it had initially invested in 2016. The size of the first fund was estimated to be around Rs100 crore. Purplle, based in Mumbai, competes with Nykaa and other beauty players and has raised over $200 million in funding. The investment is part of Ranjan Pais aggressive bets on tech firms, including Byjus and PharmEasy.US military begins Japan seafood purchases to counter China banThe United States has started buying Japanese seafood to supply its military stationed in Japan, in response to Chinas ban on Japanese seafood after the Fukushima water release. The US Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, revealed the initiative and suggested that the US should explore ways to counter Chinas economic coercion. The first purchase includes a small quantity of scallops, but the plan is to expand the purchases to all types of seafood over time. Emanuel also commented on Chinas economic challenges and its response to the recent death of former Premier Li Keqiang.

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