Electric Vehicles 2030

NITI Aayog Proposes Selling Only Electric Vehicles 2030 Onward

The pressure to effectively tackle the evidently growing problem of pollution in the country keeps mounting by the day. And the latest endeavour, 'proposed' endeavour actually, is banning the sale of petrol and diesel powered cars and other vehicles. The country's chief think tank, NITI Aayog, has suggested that only electric vehicles be sold in India from 2030.

This latest recommendation serves to expand the scope of the last one. A panel helmed by Amitabh Kant, chief executive officer, NITI Aayog, had put forward a plan wherein from 2025, only electric-powered three- and two-wheelers with an engine capacity of up to 150 cc should be retailed in India.

Anyway, back to the latest one -- the think tank has presented a Cabinet note that strives to establish the tasks as well as the different ministries that will be entrusted with said tasks. This note has proposed that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) be charged with the responsibility to formulate a strategy to phase out diesel and petrol vehicles in India by 2030.

It also suggests that MoRTH carry out trials for an e-highways initiative on specific National Highways. For those who don't know, electric highways are just highways with overhead electric cable that trucks can use to run as electric vehicles while on the electrified stretch and switch to regular hybrid vehicles while off it. India won't be the first country to toy with that idea; in fact, last month Germany started trial runs for an eHighway, converting a 9.65 km long stretch on one of its highways into an electrified one to allow hybrid trucks to run purely on electricity.