Is ‘Electric Vehicles’ the future of India?

Introduction:

From the early 90s, the demand for Motor Vehicles started growing in India, which run on derivatives of crude oil. Crude oil usage is not at all a sustainable model since it causes various types of irregularities in the human world as a whole.

Fig1. Derivatives of crude oil

Problems with Traditional Fuel:

While we all were using petrol, diesel, etc. for regular daily purposes, we were producing harmful gases in the atmosphere such as NOx, CO, PM, VOCs, SO2, greenhouse gases, etc. These gases were a threat to mankind because of their deadly outcomes. 

India is the 3rd largest importer of crude oil. This also affects our economy. As a result, the prices for crude oil will start increasing, which in turn will cause problems for the people.

All of these add up to against the usage of petrol/diesel operated vehicles, and we need to an alternative to this as soon as possible.

Fig.2 World imports of petroleum.

The Solution

In the past few years, the production of electric vehicles has been proposed as the solution or alternative to traditional conventional vehicles. These vehicles will run on chargeable batteries and will reduce the cost of traveling per km. It will not produce any emissions from the vehicles and is completely sustainable.

Day by day, the usage of EVs is increasing drastically, and by 2030, 80% of 2-wheeler, 40% of buses, and 50% of cars in India will be electric vehicles, as said by NITI Aayog.

Fig.3 EVs are the future of India

Hurdles to EVs 

India’s conversion into a fully-electric ecosystem has a few hurdles, such as high cost and inadequate infrastructure. The electric variants of all sorts of vehicles are often priced much higher than regular fuel options. This is the most important reason for the slow adoption of electric mobility. Over 60% of consumers believe that an EV is beyond their budget.

The maintenance costs are high mainly due to the lack of necessary amenities. There are more than 65,000 petrol bunks in India but only 1640 EV charging stations.

Support from Government

But for the conversion to take place as early as possible, the Indian Govt. is offering subsidies for purchasing electric vehicles. A tax exemption of Rs 1.5 lakh is also given for people buying electric cars on loan. The GST for the purchase of EVs is set at just 5% with zero cesses.

In the 2022 budget, a battery-swapping policy was announced as an easier way to charge EVs. Last year, the government also announced a Production Linked Incentive scheme for automakers, a part of which aims to boost electric vehicle manufacturing.

Fig.4 Govt support for EV

Conclusion

The world is on the verge of the beginning of the EV era. No matter what hurdles are in between but the alternative to the traditional conventional motor-operated vehicles, which run on derivatives of crude oil, has to override it. And if humans have technology that is sustainable and does not harm diversity, why wait for it? The current model is not sustainable and has to come to an end for sure.  

   Fig.5 

Written by: Rohan Choudhary

Image source: Google