Amid global push for EVs, India quietly beats retreat on electric plan

The government has quietly beat a retreat to say it aims to ensure that by 2030, at least 15% of the vehicles in the country are electric

Electric mobility powered by renewable energy could be key to fighting climate change, the 24th Conference of Parties (COP24) in Poland has highlighted.

For India, the world’s third-largest automobile market, electric vehicles (EV) are an imperative. Some 25 million conventional vehicles--with internal combustion (IC) engines--were sold here in 2017, adding to a 230 million passenger vehicle fleet, which trebled in size from 2001 to 2016.

Globally, transport accounts for a quarter of total emissions, and India’s vehicle emissions have contributed to giving the country the worst air quality in the world. By taking 1.24 million lives, air pollution was responsible