India's policy on electric vehicles is again at the center of debate due to frequent fire incidents

- Despite being a large market, India lags behind other countries in the spread of e-vehicles

To reduce pollution in the country, many efforts are being made by the government to increase the spread of electric vehicles and to increase the attraction of vehicle buyers towards them, while on the other hand, incidents of fire in electric vehicles are also coming up day by day. Four days after the entire world, including India, celebrated World Electric Vehicle Day on September 9, that is, on September 13, a major fire broke out in an electric bike showroom in Secunderabad. Initial reports said that the fire broke out due to a short circuit while charging the electric scooters. Whatever the cause of fire may be, electric vehicles and their batteries are at the center of the debate. While electric vehicles, especially two-wheelers, are frequently in the limelight due to fire incidents, the Secunderabad incident has once again raised questions and doubts about the safety of electric vehicles.

India is striving to eliminate vehicular pollution to make the country completely pollution-free by 2070. For this, apart from renewable energy, electric powered vehicles are being encouraged. In many countries, including India, battery electric vehicles are an emerging technology that has the potential to rapidly reduce vehicular pollution. Our efforts to increase the use of electric vehicles along with the increase in renewable energy capacity can lead to faster reductions in pollution. However, given the slow pace of increasing sales of electric vehicles and renewable energy capacity, pollution from vehicles and coal-fired power does not seem to be stopping anytime soon.

If we look at the statistics of 2021, the figure of sales of electric cars was 0.40 percent of the total sales of cars in this year. In spite of incentives by the government to increase the sales of electric vehicles, the sales are showing weakness. State governments are also following the central government's policy and charging stations are being set up in major cities. It is also necessary to increase the use of electric vehicles along with incentives to the manufacturers by the government. Vehicle owners' beliefs about driving range and consumer awareness of the environmental benefits of electric vehicles are hindering the spread of electric vehicles, but the biggest obstacle is safety in electric vehicles. No amount of incentives can speed up the spread of electric vehicles in the country unless consumers are convinced about safety.

In e-vehicles, the government is giving more importance to two-wheelers, as 70 percent of the total gasoline requirement in India is used in two-wheelers. India's ambitions to become a global leader in electric vehicles, especially e-scooters, have been put on hold, if not slowed down, due to the fire incidents, and the possibility of success in trying to catch up with America and China in the field of electric vehicles has also become remote. China and the US have made huge strides in the number of electric vehicles in their auto sector. By 2040, the number of electric vehicles in the annual sales of vehicles is expected to be 77 percent, while for India this figure is set at 53 percent. It has been discussed that the design of imported auto parts used in e-scooters in India is not compatible with high temperatures like agricultural crops in the country. India imports most of the parts for electric vehicles from China, so it is natural that the country's auto manufacturers remain skeptical about its reliability.

Despite having a large market, electric vehicle sales in India are low compared to other countries. When the attraction towards e-vehicles has not increased in the country, it would not be wrong to say that the picture will worsen due to frequent fire incidents. As batteries are an important part of electric vehicles, the policy makers of our country are making efforts to provide cheap and safe batteries. It is a known fact that India does not have large quantities of lithium and cobalt required for batteries. Which would not be surprising if it creates a challenging situation for India's electric vehicle manufacturers going forward. With the demand for e-vehicles uncertain following the fire incidents, it is a question whether domestic and foreign industries will soon be attracted to invest heavily in setting up e-vehicle and battery manufacturing units in India. Unless proper confidence is created among the motorists of the country regarding the safety of electric vehicles, it will be difficult to achieve success in our efforts to reduce the pollution spread by vehicles. Let us expect that India will also be brought on par with China and America in electric vehicles, especially e-two wheelers, by removing the existing confusion regarding electric vehicles.