EV Charging Stations in India: Global pollution is on rise and actions are needed to be taken to reduce it and save the planet. According to the World Air Quality Index, India had 35 entries in a list of 50 polluted cities. Cities like Bhiwandi, Ghaziabad, and Delhi topped the chart. Millions of cars running on the road are the major reason behind air pollution in these cities. EVs are a good alternative to cars powered by petrol and diesel.
Electric Vehicles were invented more than 100 years ago. But, it also took them 100 years to get popular. Today, traditional companies like Ford, General Motors, and even Mercedes are getting into EV businesses. Much more the mentioned companies, Elon Musk-owned Tesla had a major hand in this revolution which started in the USA and then spreading it across the world.
Indians don’t have EV vehicles
But it seems India doesn’t want a pie in this revolution. As of 3rd August 2022, India had 13,92,265 EVs on the road out of which 50 percent were e-rickshaws. Numbers also state that only 54,252 electric four-wheelers were present in the country. We can extrapolate that there are major reasons why people don’t want EV to be their personal vehicles.
| S. No. | Vehicle Category | No. of electric vehicles |
| 1 | Two Wheeler | 5,44,643 |
| 2. | Three Wheeler | 7,93,370 |
| 3. | Four-wheeler and above | 54,252 |
| Grand Total | 13,92,265 |
Several Steps have been taken by the Government of India to popularise Electric Vehicles in India. GST on EVs has been reduced from 18% to 5% and for charging stations 5% from the previous 12%. Special Green colored license plates are issued and they are exempted from the requirement of any permit. Road taxes are also waived off from these vehicles which result in reduced cost of EVs. But still, after these relaxations, there hasn’t been a significant rise in the popularity of EVs in India. One main reason behind it could be poor charging infrastructure.
Charging Infrastructure in India
Home Charging: One needs to have 230V/50A of power supply connection in their home. It is usually slow. No new meter is required as billing can done in the home meter.
Public Charging: These include charging stations maintained and run by a government or private entities. Electricity consumption determines are people are charged. They are generally fast and require less time.
The cost of charging an electric vehicle in India changes based on the region. The cost of charging an EV in Delhi is Rs. 4.5 per unit for low tension EVs and Rs. 5 per unit for high tension EVs. Meanwhile, the price is around Rs. 15 per unit in Mumbai and Rs. 7.28 per unit in Bengaluru.
As per the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, 3448 stations were established by Oil Marketing Companies at their Retail Outlets. Uttar Pradesh had 308 charging stations highest in the country followed by Rajasthan and Karnataka having 281 and 250 charging stations respectively. On average, there is 1 charging station for 404 vehicles. Even if a charging station has 10 charging ports and takes 30 min to fully charge a vehicle it will take them a whole day to charge all of them which is not impressive at all.
Apps and websites of companies like Tata Power, Tata Motors, Ather, Statiq help you to find charging stations in India. Even Google Maps can be used to navigate to the nearest charging points. They even let you book a slot in advance and even pay for it.
Conclusion
India has set a goal to have a 30% share of EV’sout of all the new vehicles registered by 2030 to reduce carbon emissions and fight against Climate change. And it does not seem India could complete it by the set date. To have electric Cars running around a country needs to have a strong network of charging stations and in a country, with a population of 1.4 billion, it doesn’t feel practical. We need to also find some alternatives and the battery swap seems to be a perfect one. It will not only save time but also money.
The government of India is investing money and putting all the efforts to popularise EVs in India. But the prices of electric models are more than petrol or diesel models. We need more companies to sell Electric cars which will result in more competition and demand for EVs and result in the affordability of these vehicles. It will also result in the improvement of technology. The more the merrier.
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