When the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) analysed the FAME programme (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicle) to promote electro-mobility, it found wholesale car batteries factory that during 2015-16, close to 60 per cent of the incentive meant for electric vehicles went to diesel mild hybrids.This incentive should have been spent on electric vehicles and infrastructure.Public criticism led to a hurried amendment to disqualify mild diesel hybrids from incentives under this programme.Unfortunately, under the FAME programme, not a single public transport vehicle of any kind has enjoyed incentive.(The author campaigns for clean air and public health.

Even today all vehicles are saddled with batteries that need periodic replacement and disposal. This is evident in the ill-designed policies to promote electric mobility so far. It is true that fully battery-operated electric vehicles have zero tailpipe emissions on the road, but their lifecycle emissions are determined by the source of power generation, which in India is mainly coal, and coal is the dirtiest form of power generation compared to hydro and renewable energy. Cities will have to implement Battery Disposal and Management Rules of the Central Pollution Control Board — with or without electric vehicles. This strategy no doubt is driven by the urgency to have zero emission vehicles in our cities, which are in the grip of killer pollution, reduce oil imports for energy security, and also cut carbon emissions to save the climate-challenged world. Electric vehicles are still a low volume segment — with only 1.

Similarly, the infrastructure for disposing of batteries has to expand to make it safer. But these good intentions are still without a firm roadmap to make industry plan its investments. 3 per cent market penetration in India and about 3 per cent globally. It sent seismic shocks across the auto world when the Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari announced the policy intent to push out diesel cars and promote electric-mobility in no uncertain terms in the recently held convention of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. But not many are convinced about the electro-mobility programme itself.