How Prepared is India for an Electric Vehicle Revolution?

(EVs) are transforming the road transportation industry. Over the last few years, the EV industry has grown at an average rate of 43 percent per year, with a consumption rate of roughly 2.6 percent in 2019 which is likely to skyrocket over the next few years.

Where does India stand?

In India, electric vehicles are a hot topic. Road network electrification still needs to be improved to work on the growth of EVs. A sustainable infrastructure investment that supports an economic rebound from a catastrophe. This initiative can lower oil imports while increasing energy independence. It's also crucial for lowering pollution and dealing with climate change. It is a key driver of international net-zero objectives and a significant carbon reduction strategy, next only to the green procurement of the power generation sector.

In the past few years, the central government and the state governments have implemented several positive measures. The administration, for example, has subsidized the installation of electric buses and electric charging on a national scale. On a provincial level, Telangana has waived road tax and parking fees for two-wheelers EVs, while Gujarat is encouraging the usage of EVs by providing public discounts to students acquiring two-wheeler EVs, cabbies, and self-employed people purchasing three-wheeler EVs. Delhi also announced a gradual electric vehicle strategy in 2020, which includes purchasing attractions on electric range and classification.

These approaches are encouraging, but they require further efficiency and cooperation between centralized administration, provincial government, and local (municipal) public agencies.

Rewards and an appropriate policy structure are required.

The administration cannot depend purely on incentives to promote EV adoption and India's involvement as a value chain member; it would also need to encourage more business investment in the nation. The best part is that the market trend is showing signs of improvement. Tesla declared the launch of a plant in Karnataka, southwest India, only last year, and entrepreneurial intentions are set to contribute something beyond USD 300 million to electric vehicle startups across the nation.

Nevertheless, this falls short contrast to global EV expenditure.

Well before the pandemic, automakers had planned to make investments of USD 300 billion in electric vehicles within the next 5 to 10 years. Moreover, half of the expenditure was earmarked for activities in Russia, with the rest split between Britain, the United States, Korea, Italy, and France. India must build the necessary environmental policy and conditions to become a significant EV destination for investment.

Which initiatives have been taken by India?

The government's FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) program which began in 2015, aims to encourage EV usage as well as encourage manufacturers to create electric vehicles in India. The government allocated USD 130 million in incentives to stimulate the acquisition of rechargeable two-wheelers and three-wheelers, as well as hybrid-electric automobiles and buses, in the first stage of FAME. In terms of sales, the first wave was largely seen as a success.

The second stage of FAME saw a significant increase to USD 1.4 billion in EV incentives, with around 85% going to buying subsidies and 10% to energy technologies. It began in 2019 and was supposed to last until 2022.

Accelerating local production was once again a critical element of this stage. Nevertheless, two years later, the outcomes are not as expected. Only around 10% of the EV adoption objective for Phase 2 had indeed been met by early 2021.

This is due to delayed development of the national element manufacturing business and compliance standards for government incentives that maintain EV costs too expensive. In particular, the absence of accessible funding and an unpredictable medium-term regulatory structure continue to hinder business investment.

India has the potential to be a leader in EV battery rehabilitation.

As a consequence, India's electric vehicle revolution is still in its early stages, and policy emphasis has shifted to installation and funding rather than putting more focus on heavy industry needs. The government has also developed a production-linked reward campaign to support companies to start producing electric vehicle batteries in the United States.

To alter the legislative environment in such a way that enables such installation and strategic supplier investments, and improved examination of shareholder, economic, and training needs obstacles is required. That may be the ideal time to begin policy coherence and planning for end-of-life EVs, especially in terms of urban extraction and Battery pack repurposing and recycling.

What role must the government play?

India's government faces a difficult task. The Indian government has a lot of physical labour to induce production activities from working to improve battery catalogue, transit, and collection legislation to organising battery-handling training programs; constructing branding, suitability specifications explaining agreements and possession designs; and the government can even support the improvisation of prolonged regulation to enable grouping and articular endeavours that can influence efficiency gains.

Electric vehicles will alter global transportation methods, and India will become a massive deployment market. India should strive to be a manufacturing centre that can serve both EV economic activities and battery regeneration, both rational and essential.

To accomplish this, the administration must first identify hurdles and then alter its legal instruments to overcome them and attract more business investment.