Energetica India Magazine -October 2020

assembly, high Voltage power distribution box (PDU) together with customer specific solution. Please share details about Amphenol’s new plant in India. Can we say it a truly ‘Make in India’ initiative? What quality parameters the facility follows? N aresh K umar : Amphenol is not new to India, we have manu- facturing footprints in India as old as 50 years. Complement- ing our existing business and to further expand our product lines and technological capabilities, Amphenol has come up with Amphenol PCD, Chennai and their state of art manufac- turing & assembly lines have been set up at Maramalai Nagar, Chennai to fulfil the requirement of electrical connectors to be used in Electric Vehicle, Rail mass transit, Data centre and Energy storage. Indubitably, it is a step towards ‘Make in India’ which is very similar to Amphenol tradition; ‘Think Global but Act Local’. We are also fulfilling Govt. of India ‘FAME-II’ scheme; since local - ization hold high accord in Fame-II scheme and it talks about 50% localization from April 1, 2019. Further, our new facility is in compliance with standards like ISO 9001:2015, EMS14001-2015, IATF 16949:2016 to design and manufacture products so as to meet quality, reliability & durability; along with Industry specific Certification being fol - lowed meticulously. What is your take on the current scenario of FAME-II scheme? Will this help in reaching the country’s 2030 tar- gets for EVs? N aresh K umar : Fame -II India scheme has been specifical - ly designed to give a push to electric vehicle in multi-mod- al mode of transport. Clear sky and clean air during recent lockdown have also created a positive mindset towards faster adoption and manufacturing of electric Vehicle in India. In a first, detailed localization draft guidelines have been issued by the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI) putting out a list of key components for xEV manufacturers to localise with respective deadlines to avail the scheme across all approved vehicle category. It is aimed at incentivising all vehicle segment i.e. two-wheeler, three-wheeler vehicles, Passenger four-wheeler Vehicle, LCV and Buses and logistic trucks. Amphenol PCD has already accomplished target of domesti- energetica INDIA- October_2020 15 INTERVIEW cally manufacturing under this scheme in the category of High Voltage Cable assembly with connector, power distribution box and charging connector (AC, DC and Combo) assembly. Amidst Covid-19, what will be your key suggestions for the policy makers to help boost the EV industry in the country? N aresh K umar : Electric vehicles in India could represent a Rs 50,000 crore opportunity by 2025, and the Covid-19 pandem - ic is expected to accelerate the rate of adoption of EVs in the medium term. To boost EVs’ demand in India, the government should focus on both fiscal and non-fiscal impediments. Ini - tial deployment of charging infrastructure should not be seen from the lens of generating profits rather as an opportunity to build a market and get customers accustomed to the e-mobil - ity ecosystem. On the technological front, what kind of advancement India needs while adopting EVs, battery storage, charging infrastructure etc as compared to other countries? N aresh K umar : Globally, it has been understood that for a sus - tainable uptake of EVs, charging infrastructure is a vital key. A market assessment study of the US, Germany, China, Japan and Finland has shown that apart from the subsidy support, various fiscal and non-fiscal incentives have played a defining role in improving the business viability of setting up a charging infrastructure. The automotive industry in India is at the cusp of a great transition. The transition from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs) is crucial from the point of view of sustainability and clean energy. We are in nascent stage of adoption of EV. A steady increase in energy capacity and decline of battery cost would result in EVs with longer range. In India, We expect phenomenal growth of charging infrastructure over 100 times in next 15