siliconindia | | OCTOBER 202119environment for the growth and faster adoption of Electric Vehicles in India, a number of challenges remain both on the manufacturing and adoption sides. Firstly, a lack of quick movement on the agenda of setting up a comprehensive charging infrastructure has been cited as a major bottleneck to widespread adoption. A recent survey conducted by a car buying platform found that as many as 35 percent of people were willing to buy an e-Vehicle, but lack of infrastructure was a major reason preventing them from taking the leap. A study conducted by the Centre for Energy Finance (CEEW-CEF) suggests that to meet India's EV needs by 2030; we need a cumulative investment of Rs. 12.5 crore in vehicle production and charging infrastructure. A comprehensive policy support is also needed to boost local manufacturing and localization of components & parts to make manufacturing more cost effective. A major challenge on the manufacturing front is the import dependence for lithium-ion batteries and the EV sector needs a strong as well as consistent policy support to develop local alternatives. At the same time, rationalization of GST on batteries, particularly on battery swapping, are concerns that the sector expects the government to address on priority. Lack of adequate policy support to Electric Cycles is another drawback of India's EV Policy. While the policy envisages an all electricfuture, a parallel focus also needs to be given to boost E Cycle adoption to pave way for more liveable congestion-free cities.e-CYCLES AS A CENTRAL ELEMENT OF AN ALL-ELECTRIC FUTUREWhile electric cars offer an emission-free personal transport option, it does little to address the burning challenge in Indian cities such as traffic congestion. This is why replacing cars (IC engine) with cars (electric) is a flawed policy for a country like India. To comprehensively address our urban mobility issues, we also need to shift a substantial number of car users to environment-friendly two wheelers such as bicycles or e-Cycles. Extending the EV Policy focus beyond electric cars is a very crucial need of the time. Importantly, at a time when charging infrastructure remains inadequate, thus, consumers face the issue of range anxiety when it comes to using Electric Vehicles. The e-Cycles are a good environmental bet. They help to overcome the issue of range anxiety with the facility to turn to manual pedalling when needed. We need the government to extend the subsidy benefits of FAME II to Electric cycles as well to make e-Cycles affordable to more consumers. The Government also needs to extend its Production Linked Incentive scheme under the AtmaNirbhar Bharat initiative to e-Bikes as well as their components to help make manufacturing more cost effective. A 20 percent production-linked incentive for five years will not only help the Bicycle and e-Cycle segment plug technological gaps, but also achieve economies of scale and competitive advantage. Similarly, extending of incentives under the Scheme for Promotion of electronic components and semiconductors to Electric bikes and components is another critically needed intervention. While electric cars offer an emission-free personal transport option, it does little to address the burning challenge in Indian cities such as traffic congestion
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