EV Policy in India- A Chaotic Past

EV Policy in India- A Chaotic Past

As every country would realize sooner (the better), electric vehicles (EVs) are a must for transport with a city. As each city aims to update itself to a sustainable one, shared mobility becomes extremely important and EVs can help in achieving this vision. But, India developing an EV policy has seen a chaotic past. 

“While the government has done quite a bit to create the foundation needed for a robust EV market in India, through initiatives like global tenders and Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India (FAME), when it comes to concrete policies, there is still quite a bit of confusion, at least at the Centre level” (inc42.com).

First, there was the controversial statement by the then Power Minister Piyush Goyal who claimed that 100% electric mobility was possible by 2030. According to my estimates, achieving even 20% would be a great success. Earlier this year, Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari claimed that a draft policy on EVs had already been created and was awaiting approval of the Cabinet. Right now, there is confusion surrounding who is going to take responsibility regarding the policy framework on EVS- Ministry of Power/Environment/Transport. Even think tanks like Niti Aayog have been thrown into the mix. A sure shot distribution of power is required if India wants to see electric vehicles on its roads.