Centre to boost EV infra, new bio-manufacturing scheme in the offing: FM

As Elon Musk looks all set to enter the burgeoning Indian electric vehicle (EV) market with his Tesla vehicles this year, the government on Thursday said it will expand and strengthen the EV ecosystem by supporting the manufacturing and charging infrastructure.

Presenting the Interim Budget in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that to promote green growth, a new scheme of bio-manufacturing will be launched.

“The government will expand and strengthen the EV ecosystem by supporting manufacturing and charging infrastructure,” she emphasised.

“Our government will adopt economic policies that will sustain growth and contribute in powering investment and fulfill aspirations,” she finance minister added.

“All forms of infrastructure – digital, social, physical – are being built in record time.”

Kanishk Maheshwari, Co-Founder & MD, Primus Partners, said that the new scheme for bio-manufacturing and biofoundry is a welcome step towards promoting sustainable and green manufacturing practices.

“It augurs well for both large and MSME units and should enable fast adoption of green manufacturing practices in the manufacturing process,” he said.

India is making progress in building its EV charging infrastructure in order to phase out diesel vehicles in a stipulated time-frame but there is still a long way to go.

Currently, the ratio of EVs to charging stations is nearly 9:1, while the ideal ratio should be 4:1, meaning four cars per one charging point.

According to industry experts, most of the public charging stations are currently available in tier 1 cities and some highways.

“However, for mass EV adoption to occur, charging infrastructure must be accessible throughout the country to encourage people to choose EVs for long-distance travel,” senior analyst Soumen Mandal from Counterpoint Research told IANS.

India is likely to have 10,000 public charging stations by the end of 2025.

“Furthermore, in order to achieve a 30 per cent EV adoption rate, India must build more than 300,000 public charging stations by 2030,” Mandal said.