DELHI GOVTS. DRAFT POLICY FOR DELIVERY SERVICES TO E-VEHICLES

DELHI GOVTS. DRAFT POLICY FOR DELIVERY SERVICES TO E-VEHICLES

TOPIC: Governance

Context- The Delhi government on Thursday put a draft policy in the public domain under which cab aggregators, food and other doorstep delivery services in the city would have to mandatorily switch their entire fleet to electric vehicles in a phased manner.

Concept-

• Once the policy is noti­fied, within three months, cab aggregators and deliv­ery services will have to make sure that 10% of all new two wheelers and 5% of all new four wheelers in their fleet are electric.
• By March 2023, they will have to ensure 50% of all new two wheelers and 25% of all new four wheelers are electric.
• The move has been taken with an aim to reduce air pollution in the Capital.

Electric Vehicles (EVs)

• 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.
• 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.

Need for EVs in India

• India has committed to cutting its GHG emissions intensity by 45% percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
• Pollution: 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.
• EVs manufacturing capacity will promote global scale and competitiveness.
• Promotion of EVs will facilitate employment growth in a sun-rise sector.

Challenges for EV Industry in India:

• 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.
• India is technologically deficient in the production of electronics that form the backbone of EV industry, such as batteries, semiconductors, controllers, etc.
• 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.
• EVs have higher servicing costs and higher levels of skills is needed for servicing. India lacks dedicated training courses for such skill