Union Minister of Heavy Industries, Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey has asked the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) to develop technology to reduce charging time for electric vehicles. He also noted that the sale of EVs has increased drastically in the last few months due to the various schemes and subsidies provided by the government.
The Minister was addressing the media on Monday 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.
Since charging is the main concern, when it comes to the use of EVs, the government has chosen nine expressways, where 6,000 charging stations have been sanctioned and about 3,000 shall be installed soon, Dr Pandey said.
Further, he stated that the Advanced Chemical Cell (ACC), which is the main component of an EV battery, is currently imported and about 30% of the cost of the EV is the cost of battery itself. This can be reduced if batteries are locally produced. This is possible, he said, because about 70% 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 INR 362 crore per gigawatt in this sector of EVs,” he said, adding the government’s FAME I and II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) scheme has now been extended by another two years to March 31, 2024.
The PLI scheme will lead to an investment of INR 42,500 crore and will further accelerate manufacturing of components and batteries in India. The government is providing financial support up to 8-13% for auto component manufacturers and up to 13-18% for EV manufacturers through the scheme. This will also facilitate the creation of about 7.5 lakh new advanced-level employment opportunities.
“The auto field contributes to about 14-15% of GDP, which can go up to 25-30% and can support the PM’s vision of making India a $5 trillion economy,” the Minister said.
He further stated that the Ministry of Heavy Industries has sanctioned INR 120 crore for research and other related work towards the usage of drones in the coming years for various applications.