There are a mere 25 charging stations in the whole country and putting up these stations is an expensive business that can go up to Rs 20 lakhs. Mr Gadkari must be complimented on asking where the vehicles industry is going. In fact, the government’s aim is to put one million electric three-wheelers on the roads in 18 months.For those living and working on the streets, who are the main victims of polluting vehicles, this is good news. So while the intention of the minister is commendable, it’s practicality in such a short time of 12 to 13 years seems questionable. Production of vehicles is going at break-neck speed but roads are not increasing commensurately, creating all sorts of hazards from parking space to accidents and road rage not to mention pollution. It will be interesting to see how the minister’s dictat plays out in the coming months.
The combative minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari has shaken up the auto industry that didn’t seem to take too seriously his decision on India going in for the electric cars by 2030.The question that arises is whether the government is putting the cart before the horse. The cost of switching to electric cars for manufacturers is estimated at Rs 1 lakh. Besides, where is the space for parking the cars while the battery is charged which take a few hours? In Mumbai, there are about two million cars. India is not Mumbai, and smaller towns will have a huge problem. This could scuttle the small car business. These are the objectives that the minister spelt out for the switch to electric vehicles.. The ecology has been destroyed almost beyond repair and there should be an all-round stop to polluting entities and not restricted to just polluting vehicles. Even with government subsidy for the changeover, it is not that attractive for entities like the oil marketing companies for which it means investment of thousands of crores.
Considering that infrastructure needs to be put in place and this is an expensive business, there are doubts as to whether these would be in place by the time the electric vehicles come on the roads. It is also great for curbing the country’s huge import bill. For instance, charging batteries will be a major challenge as the availability of 24x7 electricity supply still remains a pipedream. The industry cannot use the high cost of
China motorcycle batteries manufacturer batteries as an excuse to stall the changeover as the cost of lithium batteries has come down and it is expected to fall further as demand increases.Mr Gadkari, hopefully, has given considerable thought to his plan, specially to the infrastructure required. Advanced countries have taken a much longer time to achieve this. The writing’s on the wall for the auto industry and its ancillaries. This means two million batteries to be charged. It’s good news for the people, particularly for those living and working on the streets as they will not have to wear masks as some people do in Beijing
PR
