There are seveal challenges to the Electric Vehicles sector. Among them charging is one of the bane for the users. Union Minister of Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey asked the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) to develop technology to reduce the charging time for electric vehicles.

He was speaking at a press conference in Pune on Saturday, after an industry interaction meet organised by the Ministry of Heavy Industries in association with ARAI, SIAM and ACMA to share information about the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the automotive sector.

”The auto field contributes to about 14-15 per cent of GDP, which can go up to 25-30 per cent and can support the PM’s vision for making India a $5 trillion economy. ”The sale of electric vehicles has increased drastically in the last few months due to the various schemes and subsidies provided by the government…” Pandey said.

Challenges to EV adoption

The Minister also spoke about the challenges in EV adoption, including the time taken for charging vehicles. ”To overcome one of these problems related to charging, I am going to urge ARAI to develop the technology that reduces the charging time,” the minister said.

Since charging is the main concern when it comes to the use of EVs, the government has chosen 9 expressways where 6,000 charging stations have been sanctioned and about 3,000 shall be installed soon, he added.

”The Advanced Chemical Cell (ACC), which is the main component of the EV battery, is currently imported. About 30 per cent of the cost of the EV is the cost of battery itself. This can reduce if it is locally produced. ”This is possible because about 70 per cent of the material used in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries is already available in India. With these newly introduced PLI schemes, the government is providing support up to Rs 362 crore per gigawatt in this sector of EVs,” Pandey said.

PLI scheme for EVs to lead to investments of Rs 43,500 cr

The government’s FAME I and II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) scheme, which has now been extended by another two years to March 31, 2024, the Minister said.

”With the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, it will lead to an investment of Rs 42,500 crore and will further accelerate manufacturing of components and batteries in India. ”The government is providing financial support up to 8-13 per cent for auto component manufacturers and up to 13-18 per cent for EV manufacturers through the scheme. This will also facilitate the creation of about 7.5 lakh new advanced-level employment opportunities,” he added.

Considering the increase in the usage of drones in coming years for various applications, the Ministry of Heavy Industries has sanctioned Rs 120 crore for research and other related work in this regard. Further steps will be initiated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the minister added.