In the recent past, there has been substantial increase in battery driver two-wheelers and three-wheelers in Jammu and Kashmir. This is apart from the addition of electric buses. So far, the battery driven vehicles have been effective even during the winters.
According to the information available on e-vahan4 portal of Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
(MoRTH), there are 20,40,624 electric vehicles including 2-wheelers and three-wheelers registered in the country as of January 31, 2023.
Of late, the government of India has taken several initiatives to promote electricity mobility including charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
The Ministry of Power has already issued clarification that the charging of batteries of electric vehicles through charging stations does not require any license. Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has also issued amendments in the regulations regarding Technical Standards pertaining to Grid Connectivity and Safety of supply for Charging Stations.
Further Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has also issued amendments in Model Building By-Laws and Urban and Regional Development Plans, Formulation and Implementation Guidelines regarding Charging Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles.
Last year, revised consolidated Guidelines and Standards for charging infrastructure were issued by the Ministry of Power to accelerate the E-Mobility transition in the country.
Ministry of Power along with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Ministry of Heavy Industries and NITI Aayog launched a nationwide “Go Electric” Campaign to educate the general public on the benefits of electric vehicles.
As per the initial estimates provided by the government, a total of 46,397 Public Charging Stations (PCS) are being targeted in various cities by 2030.
In the middle of all these developments, electric transport in India has mixed feedback on the technology. While some consider their rollout fruitful, others have faced challenges in smoothly operating them due to their limited driving range. There are mainly four reasons to switch to electric buses –reduced pollutant emissions, lowered fiscal deficits due to oil, limited operating costs, and decreased greenhouse effect. These are typical in Jammu and Kashmir but the switch to such transport must be well calibrated. The government needs to carefully weigh up all options. There is no doubt that there is a need for augmenting the public transport but it must be more reliable. These battery driven vehicles seem future but all technical aspects need to be practically put to test before they are introduced on a large scale. Efforts to reduce the pollution are welcome and must be encouraged. The government must work towards providing facilities like Public Charging Stations.