EV needs more than hype

UR STREETS HAVE always been crowded with combustion engine vehicles with visible fumes, many of them long past expiry dates.

- M MUNEER TONY AUGUSTINE Respectively Fortune-500 advisor, start-up investor, and co-founder, Medici Institute for Innovation, & VP-partnerships, Nunam Technologies

Of late, what has been debated in boardrooms and policymakers' chambers is finally finding solid traction on Indian roads and a revolution is underway with the early adopters of electric vehicles (EVs). But will this hype, as promoted by top bureaucrats and leaders, last? Beyond the grandiose commitments to sustainability and self-sufficiency, the question lingers: is India truly prepared for this tectonic shift?

Indeed, the shift has been long overdue. Most major cities have been increasingly under the pollution cloud, with toxic levels beyond safety norms. The data is staggering. Delhi gives nonsmokers the equivalent of smoking as many as 20 cigarettes a day. A comprehensive study by IQAir over five years has found the top 10 most polluted cities across the world in India—a shocking report on the state of affairs, including unchecked emissions. The impact on economy is worse—over 75% of India's crude oil is imported with precious foreign reserves. Why the policymakers have decided to drive electric mobility aggressively is based on the reality that the future has to be powered by clean energy, COP agreement or not.

The government has crafted its policy instruments with precision and designed the framework to accelerate the adaptation of electric vehicles (EVs). Goods and services tax (GST) exemptions, reduced registration charges, ambitious production-linked incentive schemes—the list of incentives is long. The expansive solar energy potential has dovetailed seamlessly with this transition and offers an energy ecosystem that is green and locally produced. But, incentives alone haven't built transformation ever. The electric mobility dream requires total alignment of the government's vision with the industry, the public, and infrastructure.