Centre Coming Up With Another PLI Scheme Soon: RK Singh

Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy RK Singh said that the government is going to roll out another Production Linked Incentive (PLI) to increase manufacturing, capacity and volumes as well as reducing the price of storage.

He said, “We have come up with Production Linked Incentive for manufacturing of batteries, we are going to come up with another PLI. We need to reduce price of storage. The West kept talking about importance of reducing carbon emissions, but they did not do anything about reducing storage cost. The price of storage will come down only if we add volume, and that is why we are coming out with another PLI to increase manufacturing, capacity and volumes.”

Addressing the launch of EV-Ready India Dashboard (evreadyindia.org), he said that the future is electric. Nobody can stop this. The price of storage will come down, and once that comes down, diesel and petrol SUVs will be history. We will have electric, which suits in our journey as one of the largest economies of the world.

EV-Ready India Dashboard

The dashboard is a free digital platform focussed on near real-time Electric Vehicle adoption and forecasts, associated battery demand, charging density, and market growth trends. The dashboard is expected to facilitate greater inclusion across audiences, for the industry, policymakers and end users of electric vehicles. The platform leverages the power of data and AI and seeks to address the need for macroeconomic data and analysis on India’s massively growing electric mobility segment.

The EV-Ready India dashboard has forecast a 45.5 per cent Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in electric vehicles between calendar year (CY) 2022 and CY 2030, increasing from annual sales of 6,90,550 electric two-wheelers (E2Ws) in 2022 to 1,39,36,691 E2Ws in 2030. It is a platform where we will get to know the location of charging stations and whether they are occupied or not. That dashboard enables one to book charging space before you reach the destination.

Singh said that it is absolutely essential for India as a country to switch to electric mobility. “We want to move up from 5^th largest to 3^rd largest economy and increase our heft in strategic affairs. This requires energy independence, which is the primary reason for Electric Vehicles.”

Decarbonizing Transport

The Minister emphasized the importance of decarbonising transport sector and said that transport accounts for 18 per cent of our emissions, just below industry and the government was actively promoting EVs.

Supply Chain Issues

The Minister pointed out that the other hurdle for adoption of EVs is lithium resources. “80 per cent of the lithium reserves are tied up by one country, and 88 per cent of lithium processing is located in one country. Supply chain issues have now come to the forefront. What needs to be done is to shift away from lithium to other chemistries, such as sodium ion. Alternative chemistries are absolutely essential for security of supply chain.” Pointing out that supply chain issues are strategic in nature, Singh asked the industry to invest in research in alternate chemistries.

According to OMI Foundation, EV-Ready India Dashboard is the only dashboard in India that compiles sales data across all Vahan states and Telangana, along with a direct view into the state of charging infrastructure, demand trends and comparisons of Total Cost of Ownership, making it useful for the EV buyers as well.

Additionally, it tracks the current investment climate for EVs, and forecasts on market growth and EV hotspots for the country. It further measures emissions avoided, aiming to accelerate India’s journey to Net Zero.

Tamil Nadu Emerges As E2W manufacturing Hub

The Foundation has said that the dashboard estimates over 1.6 crore annual EV deployments in India by 2030. “With this, it also cites Maharashtra and Delhi operating with the highest number of charging stations in India (2531 and 1815 respectively). Tamil Nadu emerges as the E2W manufacturing hub of the country, Telangana leads in E3W manufacturing, Maharashtra in E4W manufacturing, Gujarat in battery manufacturing, and Karnataka in R&D.

Chandigarh reports the lowest public charging supply tariff at INR 3.6/kWh, 73 per cent lower compared to the national average of INR 13.74/kWh. The dashboard also reports that India has avoided an estimated 5.18 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions in 2023 so far, equivalent to 85.47 million tree seedlings covering twice the cumulative area of Lakshadweep islands.

Key Features Of The EV-Ready India Dashboard:

• For the policymakers and industry, the dashboard presents consolidated sales data for all 34 Vahan states and Union Territories, and the additional Telangana. The data is visualised for easy understanding of adoption rates and trends presented by time period, form factors, states, and more.
• The dashboard shows forecasts on EV adoption, and associated battery demand till 2030, allowing both policymakers and industry alike to strategize and execute their clean mobility goals. In addition to pan-India projections, the dashboard presents state-wise projections, in a first-of-its-kind approach.
• For the end user, i.e. the (potential) buyer of EVs, the dashboard shows financial benefits of EV ownership, including potential savings on upfront costs, operating and maintenance costs, etc. On the click of a button, the user can also review the list of EV models that are eligible for subsidies and the quantum of such subsidy.
• It also includes a comprehensive repository of all policies and regulations covering all value chains of the EV ecosystem. The policy module helps states compare their policies, update them based on their competitive advantages,
• For users, industry, and policymakers alike, the dashboard presents a comprehensive overview of charging infrastructure covering both charging stations and points across the country. Additionally, the dashboard shows the density of charging points with respect to EVs on the road. This module also shows charging tariffs allowing states to improve their rates vis-a-vis others,
• By tracking and benchmarking investments across EV value chains such as vehicle manufacturing, battery technology, battery recycling or urban mining, etc., and research and development, the dashboard maps the contributions to India’s economic growth and job creation.
• The dashboard, further, measures India’s journey towards net zero by tracking emissions avoided due to accelerated EV adoption across the length and breadth of the country.
• Lastly, the dashboard presents news and blogs on EV adoption and data-driven decision-making pertaining to all value chains of the EV ecosystem in a single place.