Relevance: GS-3: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life. Environmental pollution and degradation

Key phrases: Electric vehicle, FAME, ICE, EV30@30campaign, FAME 2, PLI

Why in News?

• Electric Vehicles (EV) are the latest automotive trend and all developed and developing nations are encouraging the switch to EVs from conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

What is an Electric Vehicle?

• An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion.
• It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes charged by solar panels, or by converting fuel to electricity using fuel cells or a generator).
• EVs include, but are not limited to, road and rail vehicles, surface and underwater vessels, electric aircraft and electric spacecraft.

India And Electric Vehicle

• India is the fourth highest emitter of carbon dioxide globally and at the recently concluded COP26, it has pledged to reduce its carbon emissions to net-zero by the year 2070.
• India aims to achieve EV sales accounting for 30% of private cars, 70% of commercial vehicles, and 80% of two and three-wheelers by the year 2030.
• For this reason, India is aggressively promoting the adoption of EVs in the country by offering various incentives at both Central and State level, to buyers and manufacturers.
• India is among a handful of countries that support the global EV30@30 campaign, which aims for at least 30% new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030.
• India’s advocacy of five elements for climate change — “Panchamrit” — at the COP26 in Glasgow is a commitment to the same.
• Various ideas were espoused by India at the Glasgow summit, such as, renewable energy catering to 50% of India’s energy needs, reducing carbon emission by 1 billion tonnes by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2070.
• The government of India remodelled Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME II) scheme.
• The recently launched Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) for the supplier side.
• The recently launched PLI scheme for Auto and Automotive Components for manufacturers of electric vehicles.

Advantages of Electric Vehicles in India:

• Low cost of ownership: It is a proven fact by many researches that EVs offer way lower cost of ownership in their lifecycle compared to fossil fuel powered vehicles. At times, the cost of ownership for an EV is as lower as 27% than a fossil fuel vehicle. The incessant rise of petrol and diesel costs are increasing the cost of ownership further for the conventional vehicles.
• Easier to maintenance: An internal combustion engine usually contains more than 2,000 moving parts. An electric motor onboard an EV on the other hand contain around 20 moving parts. The only major components in an EV are the battery and the electric motor. This makes the EVs much easier for maintenance, reducing the cost of ownership significantly.
• State EV policies - Several state governments across India have already announced their respective EV policies. Some of them promote the supply side, while some promote the demand side. There are EV policies that promote both the supply and demand side through incentives, discounts and other benefits.
• Cleaner environment - The direct and obvious advantage of adopting electric mobility is the cleaner environment. Electric vehicles don't emit pollutants into the air like their ICE counterparts. The EVs are silent as well unlike their ICE counterparts. This means EVs ensure a cleaner and quieter environment.
• No congestion charge.
• Lower running costs.
• Renewable electricity tariffs.
• Reduced noise pollution.

Challenges With electric Vehicles in India:

• Consumer perception: The consumer perception about electric vehicles in India is still weak compared to ICE vehicles. The range anxiety, lack of charging infrastructure, a wide gap between EV and ICE vehicle prices, lack of assurance about satisfactory resale value play key roles in that. Despite the Indian consumers are becoming more open about adopting e-mobility than before the negative perception about EVs is still there.
• High price: There is no price parity between electric vehicles and ICE vehicles in India. Electric vehicles are way more expensive than their conventional fuel-powered counterparts. For example, the Tata Nexon price starts from ₹7.19 lakh, while the Tata Nexon EV price starts from ₹13.99 lakh. This huge price difference discourages many interested EV buyers to shy away from making the final decision to buy a BEV.
• Scarce battery technology: The lithium-ion battery is the most popular and widely used energy source for EVs. India doesn't produce lithium. The country doesn't produce li-ion batteries either. India relies on import for EV batteries resulting in the sky-high price for these important components and eventually the EVs as well.
• Majority of EVs are not covered under FAME scheme: The Indian government took an attempt to promote electric mobility in the country via incentivising and discounts for EVs. The terms and conditions of the FAME scheme doesn't support a majority of the electric vehicles. The low-speed electric two-wheelers, lead-acid battery powered EVs are not covered under FAME. The highly expensive high-speed EVs on the other hand require registration charge, driving licence. This results in many customers shying away from buying EVs.
• Lack of products: There are hundreds of options of one wants to buy a conventional fuel powered car or two-wheeler. The case is completely different in EV segment. Only a few options are there and majority among them are not from established trustworthy brands. This drives the customers away from buying EVs.

Way Forward:

• There has been a growth of 133% in the sales of EV from FY 2015 to FY 2020, when compared to sales of conventional ICE vehicles, the numbers seem insignificant. In FY 2021-22, only 1.32% of the total vehicles sold in the country were electric.
• EVs will contribute to improving the overall energy security situation as the country imports over 80% of its overall crude oil requirements, amounting to approximately $100 billion. The Indian market needs encouragement for indigenous technologies that are suited for India from both strategic and economic standpoint.

Source: Economic Times

Mains Question:

Q. To ensure a positive growth rate towards achieving India’s Net Zero Emissions by 2070, a transportation revolution is required in India which will lead to better “walkability”, public transportation. In this regard discuss the scope of electric vehicle in India. What are the challenges associated with Electric vehicle in India? Illustrate.