Explain the various policy challenges present in mainstreaming of electric vehicles in the country. (200 Words)
Refer - The Indian Express
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 4 years
KEY POINTS
According to the Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries number of registered electric vehicles sold in India in 2019-20 was just 1,67,041 units.
According to auto industry website Autocar India, EV sales in 2019-20 stood at 7.5 lakh units in India.
Policy Challenges
· FAME II is not very popular with manufacturers, lowering of GST and import duties and enhanced subsidies, none of which actually happened in the Budget.
· The lack of a proper charging infrastructure is the key impediment to the pathetic Electric Vehicles sales.
· In fact, globally, one-third of all electric cars sold are sold in just 14 cities around the world which have adequate and well-developed charging infrastructure.
· Electrifying a market the size of India would massively push up the demand for rare earths like lithium, of which China controls a bulk of the supplies.
· While lithium is almost infinitely recyclable, the technology to recover and reuse lithium is still largely untested.
Way forward
· Converting city buses to electric poses a much more handleable infrastructure challenge, with charging facilities needed only in depots. Focussing on shared mobility taxis and three-wheelers is also easier, a fleet-based approach.
