With the government working towards making India an all-electric car market by 2030, minister for road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari, in 2017, told carmakers in no uncertain terms that if they stick to petrol or diesel, he would not mind “bulldozing” them to check pollution and imports. Two years down the line, the minister, who holds the same portfolio in the second Narendra Modi government, must be worried about the state of rollout of electric vehicles (EV) in India, and the challenges the sector faces today.
In June, Mr Gadkari had to seek a recalibration of the EV rollout plan, with his ministry even considering a longer implementation schedule, rather than setting a cut-off date. The scale of the challenge — policy, infrastructure and public acceptance — is evident from a report that Hindustan Times published on July 31.
