E-Mobility & Its Future in India

India has made significant headway in its quest for vehicular electrification in the last few years. The government has been working diligently towards creating a robust ecosystem for e-mobility in India and has bolstered it with conducive policymaking and incentives. Astute to the current e-mobility scenario in India, the govt had recently unveiled the second phase of the FAME scheme. It laid considerable emphasis on establishing a thriving public charging infrastructure in the nation, with the view to enhance consumer convenience. Developing a strong supporting infrastructure is the key to cultivate consumer confidence in electric vehicles.

Current Efforts

With a rapidly developing consciousness for electric mobility in the nation, the outlook is quite optimistic. The govt has set ambitious targets and has laid out measures and financial incentives, which will greatly aid in the rapid electrification of mobility in the nation. The recently announced schemes in the annual budget seek to make India the global hub of manufacturing electric vehicles and the suggested incentives will make buying electric vehicles attractive for the consumers. The reduction in GST rates for electric vehicles will further stimulate increased investment in the sector. The government has also identified the massive potential of deploying EVs in central and state govt offices and under the National Mobility Programme, the procurement of 10,000 electric vehicles has already been completed. Partnerships have been forged with various PSUs and states including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Telangana.

Potential Avenues

Another avenue for spurring the electric transition is public transport. India has an expansive public transport system, and this can be leveraged to increase the proliferation of e-mobility. An electric public transport system will take the benefits of e-mobility beyond just the car owners, to every citizen of the country. The aforementioned FAME- II also laid out significant incentives for shared electric mobility. Individual states are also rallying towards creating an electric public transport system, with Tamil Nadu leading the way.  Cab aggregators too have a role to play in this regard and some have already begun their pilot programmes for EVs. The number of cabs on the road are considerably higher than personal vehicles and thus electrification of their fleet will have far reaching consequences. It will not only strengthen the national e-mobility ecosystem, will lead to a colossal decrease in emissions. Availing the electric cars will also pique the interest and curiosity of the consumers, compelling them to try out EVs in a personal capacity as well. This will provide a major impetus to e-mobility adoption in the country.

Another important cog to the e-mobility machinery is the EV batteries and effective battery storage will be the fulcrum for a smooth transition to e-mobility. The government has been prescient of the rising importance of battery storage in spurring the e-mobility movement and has established the National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage. It is encouraging the setting up large-scale, export-competitive integrated batteries and cell-manufacturing giga-plants. With this, India has taken the next step towards creating a robust domestic manufacturing infrastructure. Thus, the future of the electric mobility sector in India hinges on devising proactive policies, forging an agile e-mobility ecosystem, and creating powerful consumer user case.