Urban Transport Infrastructure November 2018 Urban Transport Infra November 2018 | Page 46

Interview
In personal transport space, don't you
think two-wheelers should also be
promoted?
Mr. Rajiv: Yes. Here are some
interesting figures. 86% of the
vehicles on the roads are non-cars.
Only 14% are cars out of which only
2% are cars above Rs. 5 lakh. Rest
are all below Rs. 5 lakh. Let us focus
on 86% which are not cars. What are
they made up of? Two-wheelers,
three-wheelers, and buses. Two-
wheelers are a huge number and they
will be the future of electric mobility
tomorrow (and) we should focus on
that. But, two-wheelers at the
moment don't include electric
bicycles, which should also be
brought in. We should also promote
the pedal bicycles which is a healthier
option. This, however, requires the
mindset change and also change in
urban planning. Today, we have not
left our roads safe either for
pedestrians and cyclists. We must
make sure that we make smart cities
which are conducive for cycling, and
walking and at the same time make
that into a 'Jan Andolan' for a
mindset change.
You can also provide charging
stations for some cars. But if you are
promoting commuting by zero-
emission vehicles or if you are doing
rural-urban connectivity, swapping
might be the best. We have these
three-wheelers who can stop at a
dhaaba like place, quickly take out
the battery and put the other in and
be on their way.
And then we can have specialized
battery charging establishments that
run on solar power. One should not
look at this stage, think of ‘this
versus that’. One should be fairly
technology agnostic at this stage and
policies should allow flexibility make
sure that it is technology agnostic.
Today, we are into lithium ion,
but tomorrow we may well be into
graphite or into fuel cells. The point is
to provide impetus away from non-
zero emission.
While batteries are charged at 28%
GST, but for electric vehicles, the slab
is 12% only.
Mr. Rajiv: All these issues are tackled
in the papers that we are writing now
and in the framework paper also,
separate committed paper. We are
Mr. Rajiv: I cannot say (about that) just
now. I should not pre-empt my own
colleagues who are working hard (on
this).
SMEV has urged the union government
to make policies that will help
manufacturers in the short term
meaning 3 months to 3 years. The reason
they offer is that it will give clarity to
manufacturers who have already
invested in developing EVs in India.
What is your view of the suggestion?
Mr. Rajiv: Absolutely, we are
committed to doing this. As I said, two
months time is not a waiting for good.
SMEV has raised concerns over the
proposed cap of 20% on ex-factory rice
of EVs.
Mr. Rajiv: I don't know about it.
SIAM has expressed concerns that the
government should encourage a policy
that will generate large volumes. They
are also asking for similar incentives on
EVs. What is the sense that you are
getting?
Mr. Rajiv: We are all getting on to the
same page. I don't think that either the
industry or officials should approach
phase i.e. these two months with any
pre-set notions. My own one thought is
that if we
can promote
shared
electric
mobility
without
necessarily
depending
on subsidies,
that is a
much better
and self-
sustaining
move
forward. I
am not
ruling out
subsidies but
these would
have to be
PM Narendra Modi flagged off the Smart E-Bus, an indigenous technology developed by the KPIT at the Indian Parliament.
very
Do you think charged battery poses far
better options as compared to charging
stations when it comes to electric
vehicles?
Mr. Rajiv: Horses for courses. There is
no trade-off between one and the
other. For example, if you have buses
which requires large batteries, you
will need an infrastructure which
should be built either at the depots or
at other terminals.
WWW.URBANTRANSPORTNEWS.COM
preparing five thematic papers and
one umbrella paper for our big global
mobility summit on 7th and 8th of
September, which the PM himself is
leading. That summit will not just be
a photo-op opportunity. It will have
announcements on all these issues. I
assure you that we will achieve policy
consistency by that time the summit
is taking place.
So what will be the key takeaways?
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targeted and tied to some specific
objectives which we want to achieve in
the short run. But as you can well
appreciate, it is such a large industry
and going to occupy such a huge space,
that we need to find the trajectory for a
self-sustained rapid growth.
Each state govt have come out with their
own policies on EVs. Do you think that
is the way forward? Or do you support a
pan-India guideline for EVs which has a
Urban Transport Infrastructure | November 2018