T-Hub, a startup engine in partnership with the Telangana government, has launched the Smart Mobility and Transportation Cluster in Hyderabad. This first-of-its-kind initiative has a two-pronged approach and will work towards enhancing mobility while reducing congestion, air pollution and road traffic incidents. T-Hub is making efforts to create a smart mobility ecosystem in India, which will enable relevant stakeholders to harness, build, design, test and develop cutting edge innovation in Autonomous Vehicle (AV) technology, Vehicle Electrification and Shared Mobility. The global transportation industry is at the crossroads of disruption and innovation, where electricity is set to power the next generation of vehicles as opposed to current fuel options that are neither sustainable nor environment friendly. Policy makers around the globe are extremely bullish on the prospect of electric vehicles and are pulling out all stops to make this a reality.

“Telangana and T-Hub are joining hands to launch the smart mobility and transportation cluster. This will help encourage innovation in the space of EV, AV and other cutting-edge technologies. As part of this cluster, the state plans to put out a policy document on EV very shortly,” says Jayesh Ranjan, principal IT/industry secretary, Telangana government. With India fast emerging as a global leader in clean energy, the central government has also put forth its vision to transition to 100% electric vehicles by 2030. The Telangana government is putting together policy and incentives for all stakeholders in this industry which include automobile manufacturers, aggregators, and end users. Aligned with the Centre’s vision for green transportation, the state is taking a big step towards EV and related innovation and is now partnering with T-Hub to fulfill its mission for clean energy and sustainability.

“Urban mobility is a highly relevant and key concern in this rapidly developing time and has opened up a lot of entrepreneurial opportunities,’’ says Jay Krishnan, CEO, T-Hub. “We will invite start-ups from across the globe in the transportation space from the demand and supply side to help come up with innovative solutions and ideas. The ecosystem with a number of stakeholders that includes government, start-ups, infrastructure, academia, corporates and investors shall become a hub for innovation in the transportation space and change the future of mobility radically,” he added.

As a precursor to the launch of the smart mobility and transportation cluster, T-Hub and Autonebula conducted the Connected Transport Startup meetup to recruit top-notch start-ups and entrepreneurs who have disruptive ideas in the connected transport space or IoT in the automotive segment. Autonebula is the only exclusive incubator cum accelerator initiative in India focused on Connected Transport.

T-Hub is a public-private partnership between the government of Telangana, IIIT-Hyderabad, Indian School of Business and NALSAR and key private sector leaders. It has one of the largest start-up ecosystem builders in India, with over 2000 start-ups in its database clustered into various stages of growth across sectors of specialisation which is a model of community development that is unique to Hyderabad.