Charging hope for electric mobility

India's push for electric mobility has been slowed down by absence of easily accessible charging facilities and high cost of electric vehicles. A draft policy prepared by the NITI Aayog for Indian Railways for setting up charging stations at railway stations has fuelled hopes for faster adoption of hybrid and electric vehicle in the country. A low-cost technology for charging electric vehicle developed by researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi and IIT, Guwahati is also expected to accelerate the pace.Affordable cost of electric vehicle and easily available charging facilities are critical to the country achieving the target of transition from internal combustion engine vehicles run on petrol and diesel to 100% plug-in vehicles towards decarbonising transport sector.Apart from affordability ad accessibility of charging facility automobile industry has also flagged the issue of access to bank loans for purchasing electric vehicles. It is heartening to know that a leading electric vehicle manufacturer has evinced interest in commercialisation of the charging technology developed at IIT (BHU). The developers of the new technology have claimed that it will reduce cost of on-board charging technology by 40 to 50 per cent and will also bring down cost electric vehicles. Official estimatesproject that electric vehicle penetration by 40% in two/three wheelers and cars and 100% in buses will help India cut down crude oil consumption by about 156 million tonnes worth Rs 3.5 lakh crores. The NITI Aayog's proposal to Railway Ministry railway stations across the country could play an important role in providing public charging facilities for electric vehicles but will require meticulous traffic management to prevent rush of vehicles. Having more affordable and easily accessible public charging facility is critical to successful implementation of the phase II of the central government scheme of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) to push electric mobility. The central government notified FAME -II in March 2019 with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore for five years for providing subsidies to support 7000 e-buses, 10 lakh e-two wheelers, five lakh e-three wheelers and 55,000 e-cars. Nearly three years have already elapsed,but less than two lakh electric vehicles supported under the current phase II of the scheme so far which indicates that electric mobility has not gained popularity as desired. The NITI Aayog's proposal to the government to include electric vehicles in the guidelines of Reserve Bank of India for priority sector lending has created a buzz on retail finance for electric mobility. The NITI Aayog has estimated the retail finance market size of electric vehicles for banks and non-banking financial institutions at Rs 40,000 Crores by 2025 and at Rs 3.7 lakh crores by 2030 but lot will depend on consumer awareness. Banks are wary of resale values electric vehicles which explain the reasons for retail finance for such vehicles being not a priority lending. An effective way of raising consumer awareness could be by way of government pushing transition of public transport buses in cities to electric mobility. Leaving the responsibility to public sector transport authorities which are already burdened with financial crisis is not going to work. The Central government and state governments funding conversion of entire fleet of city buses will have two direct benefits. It will lead to reduction of carbon emission and contribute towards improvement in air quality in cities. Smooth and noiseless running of electric buses also reduces noise pollution in a city. Running entire fleet of buses in a city will help spread awareness on importance of electric vehicles for greener mobility. As movement of city buses is on fixed route and from destination to destinations within the city limits creating the charging facilities is easier as compared to long distance buses and private cars out on a long journey. Swapping of batteries is an optional solution of charging buses and trucks and can be adopted to address the problem of long hours of charging. Smooth and efficient public transport can also reduce personal mobility and bring down demand for internal combustion vehicles. Adoption of electric vehicle policies by 25 states has given a boost to the central government's efforts to promote electric mobility. States revisiting their policies to take corrective actions simultaneously while pushing implementation of the policies has become important reduce speed bumps on the road of electric mobility to reach the target dates. Raising the upper limit of Capital subsidy for commercial charging stations all segments can help increasing the charging stations. This will also reduce anxiety among vehicle owners over range limitations of electric vehicle due to inadequate charging facilities and encourage transition to transformative transport sector. Creating the electric mobility eco-system in India is critical to achieving its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2070 and it requires multi-pronged approach.