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Shoonya Campaign: 

GS Paper 3

Topics Covered: Infrastructure- energy. 

 

Context: 

Recently, NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and RMI India have launched the Shoonya Campaign. RMI is an independent nonprofit organization founded in 1982. 

 

About the Campaign: 

  • It is an initiative to promote zero-pollution delivery vehicles by working with consumers and industry. 
  • The campaign will promote the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the urban deliveries segment and create consumer awareness about the health, environmental and economic benefits of electric vehicles. 
  • As part of the campaign, a corporate branding and certification programme is being launched to recognise and promote the industry’s efforts towards transitioning to EVs for final-mile deliveries. 

 

Government of India Initiatives to give a boost EV Sector in India: 

  1. The government aims to see 6 million electric and hybrid vehicles on the roads by 2020 under the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020. 
  2. Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India Scheme) for improving electric mobility in India. 
  3. Implementation of smart cities would also boost the growth of electric vehicles. 

 

Challenges ahead: 

  1. The Indian electric vehicle (EV) market currently has one of the lowest penetration rates in the world. 
  2. Capital costs are high and the payoff is uncertain. 
  3. The Indian EV industry has been hit hard due to rupee’s dramatic depreciation in recent months. 
  4. Local production of inputs for EVs is at just about 35% of total input production. 
  5. The production will be severely affected in terms of production costs. 
  6. The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles (Fame) framework has been extended repeatedly. 
  7. An uncertain policy environment and the lack of supporting infrastructure are major roadblocks. 
  8. India does not have any known reserves of lithium and cobalt, which makes it dependent on imports of lithium-ion batteries from Japan and China. 

 

Need of the hour: 

  1. For EVs to contribute effectively, we need commensurate efforts in developing an entire ecosystem. 
  2. Need to shift the focus from subsidizing vehicles to subsidizing batteries because batteries make up 50% of EV costs. 
  3. Increasing focus on incentivizing electric two-wheelers because two-wheelers account for 76% of the vehicles in the country and consume most of the fuel. 
  4. A wide network of charging stations is imminent for attracting investment. 
  5. Work places in tech parks, Public bus depots, and Multiplexes are the potential places where charging points could be installed. In Bangalore, some malls have charging points in parking lots. 
  6. Corporates could invest in charging stations as Corporate Social Responsibility compliances. 
  7. Acquiring lithium fields in Bolivia, Australia, and Chile could become as important as buying oil fields as India needs raw material to make batteries for electric vehicles. 

Sources: PIB.