The Indian Electric Mobility Dream - A Distant Mirage...

The year 2019 was all about the "e" word. Electric this, electric that...... anything related to electric mobility was the talk of the town. The media made sure that the electric mobility revolution in India was given all the coverage it required. The government on its part came up with all the framework and legislation to ensure that the electrification of Indian mobility industry is done at a faster pace than the global benchmarks.

The Niti Aayog even made a proposal to the government that only electric vehicles should be sold in India after 2030. The department of Heavy Industry headed by Minister Nitin Gadkari came our with FAME I on 1st April 2015 and subsequently followed up the FAME I scheme with FAME II scheme from April 1 2019 to incentivize all vehicle segments i.e. 2-Wheelers, 3-Wheelers Auto, Passenger 4-Wheeler vehicles, Light Commercial Vehicles and Buses.

In spite of all these legislation and media coverage why is the Indian Electric Mobility dream still not a reality????

The answer is infrastructure.

The Indian government has been supportive in terms of the incentives being offered to customers for purchase of electric mobility in the form of one time subsidy during the purchase of any electric vehicle. But in order to utilize the electric vehicle to its full potential and to win the confidence of the common man the charging infrastructure needs to be in place which still is in its nascent stages. 

Though the government has made proposal for setup of 2,636 EV charging stations across 62 cities in 24 states and UT under the FAME II scheme, not much has happen on the field.

Charging infrastructure is the need of the hour, once the infrastructure is in place to build the electric mobility on, the EV market in India is set to reach new heights.

Adios

Jaiwin Ruban (The e Bike eXpert)

www.samsebikes.com