In India, favourable conditions such as availability of skilled workforce and technology in manufacturing, an abundance of exploitable renewable energy resources, and a culture that accepts and promotes sharing of resources and assets have created an opportunity for accelerated adoption of E.V.'s over ICE vehicles.

Across the world, many countries have included E.V.'s as a vital element in their transportation policy as per their technological capabilities, stage of economic development, energy resources, and the political response to climate change. In India, favourable conditions such as availability of skilled workforce and technology in manufacturing, an abundance of exploitable renewable energy resources, and a culture that accepts and promotes sharing of resources and assets have created an opportunity for accelerated adoption of E.V.'s over ICE vehicles.

Policies that encourage India-specific initiatives need to be developed to enhance E.V.'s growth prospects in the Indian market. Some key objectives of the policy should be,

1. Reduce oil consumption in transportation.

2. Reduce pollution. 

3. Facilitate the adoption of electric vehicles. 

4. Encourage cutting edge technology through adoption and R&D.

5. Improve the transportation used by the common man. 

6. Create an E.V. manufacturing capacity of international measure.

Customizing India's E.V. Policy to Suit The Changing Times

India needs a tailor-made policy to suit its particular needs. Our country uses a large variety of motor transport on roads, and its auto-segment is quite different from that of most of the world. Premium four-wheeler vehicles or cars are only 2% of the total sales in India. We need to nurture early adoption of electric vehicles which will lead to consumer comfort and make advanced technology available in the market.

Also, in the long term, India should establish technological and manufacturing leadership in the market. The prevalence of small vehicles such as two-wheeler, three-wheeler, and small goods vehicles is a distinctive phenomenon in our country, along with the concept of "shared mobility"! Therefore, India has a unique opportunity to take a leadership role in the electrification of vehicles, which can not only help meet the domestic demand but can also place India in the position of a global leader. 

Research and Development

India must develop strong R&D capacity leading to commercialization in E.V. subsystems. The Government should grant aid for product-development for DC-DC converters, E.V. chargers, electric power steering, and electric power brakes. Also, India needs to keep a watch for new methods and technologies to promote long-term research and development in all aspects of E.V. technologies. 

Making E.V.'s Economically Viable

A strategy to address two key variables affecting the costs of E.V.'s - battery costs and fiscal policies that either increase the costs of an ICE vehicle or decrease the costs of an E.V. is the need of the hour. To reduce battery costs, reducing the number of batteries that an electric vehicle needs can be addressed by developing an ecosystem of fast-charging or swapping of batteries. Additionally, small batteries can also lower the costs by reducing the total weight of the vehicle and lead to higher energy-efficiency. India should encourage manufacturing of such battery cells and charging infrastructure can be rolled out on a city by city basis with select cities and regions leading the transition.

India needs a brand-new approach to import duty while keeping "Make in India" as a prime goal. Goods such as electric cars and chargers should have the highest import duty and subsystems like batteries, air-conditioners, and power-modules a lower import duty. Lastly, subsystems like motors, battery-cells, I.C.'s, magnets, controllers, and connectors little or zero import duty. 

India should provide MSIPS incentives and tax incentives for Lithium-ion battery manufacturing to encourage setting up of manufacturing cells. By 2022, India needs a minimum of 10 GWh which has to grow to about 50 GWh by 2025. The country must get the cell cost and parameters (like size, weight, safety, and temperature tolerance) right so that it can manufacture best-in-class batteries.

At the same time, India needs the policy to obtain metals used in Lithium-ion batteries, such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and graphite. It is also imperative to set up Lithium-ion battery recycling industry, and MSIPS incentives and tax incentives could be provided for Lithium-ion battery recycling plants as well as for chemical industries, that convert battery matter into chemicals.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house