Visible effect of the lockdowns was clean air in cities as vehicles went off roads. The Himalayan range became visible from Punjab for the first time in 30 years. Satellite images showed the steep drop in nitrogen oxides from vehicular emissions in Delhi and Mumbai. As lockdowns ease and roads fill up again, we’ll see pollution return. But the experience of breathing fresh air reinforces the case for switching to electric vehicles. 
The Centre has an ongoing FAME II scheme of subsidies and incentives, although stronger measures may be needed to meet the goal of electric vehicles comprising 30% of auto sales by 2030. The coronavirus crisis has hit the auto industry, and it’s a wait to see when electric vehicles regain momentum. 
About Electric Vehicles

• An electric vehicle, uses one or more electric motors or traction motors for propulsion.
• An electric vehicle may be powered through self-contained battery, solar panels or an electric generator to convert fuel to electricity.

Need for EVs in India

• Climate change: Problem of rapid global temperature increase has created the need for a reduction in the use of fossil fuels and the associated emissions. India has committed to cutting its GHG emissions intensity by 33% to 35% percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
• Rapid urbanization: Economic development leads to rapid urbanization in emerging nations as rural populations move non-agricultural sectors in cities creating environmental problems. According to a recent study by WHO, India is home to 14 out of 20 most polluted cities in the world. EVs will help in tackling this problem by reducing local concentrations of pollutants in cities.
• Energy security: India imports oil to cover over 80 percent of its transport fuel. EVs can reduce dependence on imported crude oil promoting India’s energy security.
• Innovation: It will encourage cutting edge technology in India through adoption, adaptation, and research and development. EVs manufacturing capacity will promote global scale and competitiveness.
• Employment: Promotion of EVs will facilitate employment growth in a sun-rise sector.
• Clean and Low carbon Energy: The shift towards renewable energy sources has led to cost reduction from better electricity generating technologies. This has introduced the possibility of clean, low-carbon and inexpensive grids.
• Cutting edge Battery Technology: Advances in battery technology have led to higher energy densities, faster charging and reduced battery degradation from charging. Combined with the development of motors with higher rating and reliability, these improvements in battery chemistry have reduced costs and improved the performance and efficiency of electric vehicles.

About NEMMP and FAME

• NEMMP was launched in 2013 with an aim to achieve national fuel security by promoting hybrid and electric vehicles in the country. There is an ambitious target to achieve 6-7 million sales of hybrid and electric vehicles year on year from 2020 onwards.
• FAME India Scheme [Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India] was launched in 2015 with the objective to support hybrid/electric vehicles market development and manufacturing ecosystem. The scheme has 4 focus areas i.e. Technology Development, Demand Creation, Pilot Projects and Charging Infrastructure.

Prospects in Post-COVID Era

• Strong growth: The EV industry in India managed to post a decent 20% increase in sales in FY20 compared to FY19
• Policy Push by government for e-vehicles: The GST council reduced the rates from 12% to 5% for vehicles, and from 18% to 5% for vehicle chargers. 
• Push by State governments to adopt e-vehicles: For ex: Kerala government has instructed all its departments to purchase only e-vehicles from the next financial year.
• Dedicated schemes like FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) have incentivised local manufacturing and the growth of domestic technology.
• Personal mobility is going to pick up again post-Covid, as people would avoid mass transport thus giving boost to e-vehicles
• Driver of growth: In Post-COVID times, fastest growth for automotive sector would come from the e-rickshaws segment that plugs last-mile connectivity.
• India’s Demographic advantage: Surveys point that younger consumers, particularly females, are more willing to invest in EVs than older generation. 
• Environmental friendly: Increased environmental awareness among public, especially after COVID crisis, could lead to increased adoption for e-vehicles

Challenges to its arrival

• Lack of a stable policy for EV production: EV production is capital intensive sector requiring long term planning to break even and profit realization, uncertainty in government policies related to EV production discourages investment in the industry.
• Technological challenges: India is technologically deficient in the production of electronics that form the backbone of EV industry, such as batteries, semiconductors, controllers, etc.
• Lack of associated infrastructural support: The lack of clarity over AC versus DC charging stations, grid stability and range anxiety (fear that battery will soon run out of power) are other factors that hinder the growth of EV industry.
• Lack of availability of materials for domestic production: Battery is single most important component of EVs. India does not have any known reserve of lithium and cobalt which are required for battery production. India is dependent on countries like Japan and China for the import of lithium-ion batteries.
• Lack of skilled workers: EVs have higher servicing costs and higher levels of skills are needed for servicing. India lacks dedicated training courses for such skill development.

Government Measures

• Government has set a target of electric vehicles making up 30 % of new sales of cars and two-wheelers by 2030 from less than 1% today.
• To build a sustainable EV ecosystem initiatives like – National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) and Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric vehicles in India (FAME India) have been launched by India.
• Organization like Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Department of Heavy Industry, Automotive Research Association of India are devising design and manufacturing standards of EVs, Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSEs) & charging infrastructure to smoothen the advent of in-house production of EVs.

Road Ahead

• EVs are rapidly growing sunrise sector which can give push to ‘Make in India’. Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with countries rich in materials like Lithium, rare earth materials etc. to deal with lack of availability of these materials.
• Establishing the right coordination among three pillars of EV industry i.e. urban planning, transportation and power sectors will assist in systematic adoption of EVs.
• Education curriculum and skill development plans should be upgraded to match the requirements of the sectors. Increasing Public awareness as there is a direct correlation between knowledge of electric vehicles and its adoption.
• Stabilizing policy environment by working on tax incentives, non-fiscal incentives can address the uncertainty of demand helping the industry to achieve economies of scale.
• Affordable, accessible, inclusive and safe mobility solutions are primary strategic levers for rapid economic development and improving ‘Ease of Living’.