Current Affairs
Daily Bits

World EV Day

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Environment
  • Published
    11th Sep, 2021

Context

World EV Day is observed on September 9 every year to mark the celebration of e-mobility.

About the Day

  • World EV Day was an initiative created by sustainability media company Green.TV.
  • The first World EV day was observed in 2020. 
  • It was largely a social media campaign that encouraged drivers to recognise the benefits of electric vehicles and make a commitment that the next car they drive will be electric and not run on conventional fuels.
  • World EV Day works alongside Green.TV’s EV Summit. 
  • It brings the world’s e-mobility leaders together to brainstorm on how to take electrification and sustainable transport forwards.

Electric vehicles

  • EVs are vehicles that are either partially or fully powered on electric power.
  • Electric vehicles have low running costs as they have less moving parts for maintaining and also very environmentally friendly as they use little or no fossil fuels (petrol or diesel). 
  • While some EVs used lead acid or nickel metal hydride batteries, the standard for modern battery electric vehicles is now considered to be lithium ion batteries as they have a greater longevity and are excellent at retaining energy, with a self discharge rate of just 5% per month.

Lithium

  • India imports all its lithium needs. 
  • Though a reserve of 14,000 tonnes of lithium has been found in Mandya, Karnataka, it will not be enough to keep up with the future demand. 
  • Australia, Chile, and China are the leading producers of lithium in the world.

Where does India stand in the EV market?

  • While China is the largest EV market in the world, India is emerging as the next favourite destination for automotive companies. 
  • The government has promised to offer all possible help to take the electric vehicle industry forward. Notably, India's automotive industry is the fifth largest in the world. 
  • It is set to become the third largest by 2030.
  • The country is already making efforts to shift towards electric vehicles. 
    • Recently, world's leading electric vehicle and clean energy company Tesla announced its entry into India.
    • The American giant has incorporated its subsidiary -- Tesla India Motors and Energy Pvt Ltd, in Bengaluru.

Government policies 

  • Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric vehicles-II (FAME-II) 
  • Stringent regulation on fuel efficiency and emissions

Verifying, please be patient.