Growing use of electric cars in the country is a good sign Growing use of electric cars in the country is a good sign Essay by Sadhan Shankar ThePipaNews

Last October saw the highest sales of electric scooters in India. Not only this, the monthly registration of all electric vehicles has also crossed one lakh. This is a 190 percent increase compared to the October 2021 figure. Adoption of electric vehicles in densely populated cities is a significant change. They are called the vehicles of tomorrow, as they are eco-friendly and also cost less to run The country’s first electric two-wheeler was produced by Scooter India Limited in 1996 and named – Vikram Safa. India’s first well-known electric car was the Reva, launched in 2001. Electric vehicles have come a long way since then. Today, all major manufacturers in the world such as Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Hyundai, Mahindra, Chevrolet, BMW, Renault are producing state-of-the-art electric vehicles.

Fame 1 and 2 were launched by the Government of India in December 2015. FAME stands for Faster Adoption and Production of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles. Reputation is promoting the manufacture of electric vehicles, charging stations and batteries. About 16 states in the country have adopted their own electric vehicle policies. At present around 934 charging stations are functioning in the country. Their number is increasing in the private and public sectors. Electric vehicles are good for the environment, as they do not run on fossil fuels and produce almost zero carbon emissions. They do not make noise and their production cost is also low. Because their engine has fewer components than fossil fuel powered engines. The most important and expensive component of electric vehicles is their battery. It contains precious elements like lithium, cobalt, manganese, nickel. Factories producing these are called gigafactories, because battery production is measured in gigawatt hours. The term was first used by Elon Musk around 2013. By this he meant to describe the massive battery manufacturing plant built by the electric car company Tesla. Traditionally production is a straight line process. Finished goods are made from raw materials, which ultimately reach the consumer. After the life of the product is over, it is destroyed. Examples of disposable items include clothing, electronic devices, footwear and, in recent years, masks and PPE kits. However, such disposal often leads to an increase in the amount of non-biodegradable waste and hence pollution.

According to a report by the World Economic Forum, less than 9 percent of the raw materials used in construction around the world are recyclable. But Gigafactory is moving towards a circular economy by making new batteries for itself from used batteries. It is economically reasonable and also good for the environment, as it does not leave polluting residues. Some of India’s largest companies have already attempted to set up gigafactories The circular process of electric vehicle use and production is an encouraging sign. Other large industries can also take inspiration from this and consider adopting recycling and reuse methods in production. (These are the personal views of the author.) Sadhan Shankar is the author and Indian Revenue Service officer