The Front Seat in Electric Mobility

Context: The progression to electric vehicles is important for India as they are sustainable and profitable.

Electrification of road transport in India: ensuring electric mobility -

• Benefits:
  • An economically and environmentally viable option for India; (Lithium is also used as a drug to treat bipolar disorder)
  • Builds domestic energy independence: and will allow India to fine-tune its infrastructure by reducing imports of crude oil (especially from West Asia)
    • India is the third-largest oil importer in the world in terms of value (imported 228.6 MT of crude oil worth $120 billion in 2018–19).
  • Employment: through new skills.
• Concerns:
  • Overdependence on imports: from China, Vietnam, and Hong Kong.
  • Growing demand for lithium (tripled from $384 mn to $1.2 bn): which is catered by imports and not by the domestic industry.
• Significance of Latin American countries: in terms of lithium resource and exports:
  • India’s biggest trading partners in Latin America are Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela;
  • Majority of trade is concentrated on crude oil which includes 14%­20% of India’s total crude oil imports; (This might shift towards Lithium and Cobalt).
  • Lithium triangle: encompasses lithium deposits under the salt flats of northwest Argentina, northern Chile, and southwest Bolivia and holds about 80% of the explored lithium of the world.
• Initiatives by Indian Government:
  • The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles-2 (FAME 2):
    • Aim: to achieve 30% of electric vehicles plying the roads by 2030.
    • Financial allocation: $1.3 billion in incentives for electric buses, three-wheelers and four-wheelers to be used for commercial purposes till 2022, and earmarked another $135 million for charging stations.
  • Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL): Aims to scout for strategic mineral assets like lithium and cobalt abroad for commercial use and meet the domestic requirement for battery manufacturers.
    • KABIL was formed In 2019, by India’s National Aluminum Company (NALCO), Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) and Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd (MECL)
  • Subsidies: NITI Aayog has proposed a $4.6 billion subsidy for battery makers.