You get off the Metro on MG Road, and encounter silence all around. No sound of the cars, buses, autos and motorbikes on the roads. You can see them all, but you can’t hear them. You check to see if your hearing aid is working, look again, listen, smell the air around you and realize, OMG! There is no smoke in the air either!
Then it dawns on you. All the vehicles you saw are electric vehicles. Is this science fiction? Yes and no. Yes, because a lot of science fiction did predict this future. No, because it’s actually beginning to happen, and policy-makers are stating intent in that direction. When could this realistically happen? Within a decade.
India wants to be a world leader in electric vehicles. Power minister Piyush Goyal told a youth conference that he is working on a scheme to position the country as the EV leader. He is setting sights on a goal of having 100 percent of the vehicles on our roads powered by electricity by 2030. Other countries are thinking along similar lines. By 2025, the Netherlands may only allow EVs on the road. The Dutch lower house of Parliament has supported a motion to ban all diesel and petrol cars from the Dutch market starting in 2025.
Eliminating vehicular emissions completely would have an immense impact on air quality. If India can make a shift toward using more renewable energy in its electric grid, the benefits would be massive. States will not have to dabble with difficult odd-even schemes. Piyush Goyal says his plan will not use government funds, though the government could offer incentives. Instead, people would be able to buy an electric car with no down payment, and pay for the car using fuel savings.
He also proposes that electricity tariffs need not increase, but that a more efficient electricity strategy would be necessary for the program to work.
"Innovation is possible," says Goyal, "it just needs an open mind. You need to think scale, and be honest." May the power be with you, Mr. Goyal. All of us citizens who value clean air and the future of Planet Earth are with you
