The future of mobility needs to be debated, otherwise India will find itself with its transportation arteries clogged
The Global Mobility Summit, MOVE, organised by the NITI Aayog, is an important summit for all Indians because our roads, airports, railways and seaports are choked and we will need mobility solutions to foster rapid economic growth. However, at the same time as trying to decongest vital transportation infrastructure, the summit recognises the need for India to change the traditional means of powering mobility. While transportation is not the largest contributor to particulate pollution, it contributes significantly towards carbon emissions, nitrogen oxides and sulphur pollution. It is worrying to note that despite rising prices at fuel pumps, India’s consumption of petrol and diesel has been rising sharply.
While Amitabh Kant of the NITI Aayog claims that the summit is an opportunity to see how India can leapfrog the West in the anticipated shift towards electric mobility, the fact remains that India’s biggest economic rival, China, is already well ahead in the game. That said, China’s east Asian neighbours, Japan and South Korea, also worried about Chinese economic imperialism, are partnering with India towards this future. Both Maruti-Suzuki and Hyundai Motors announced that they will be working towards launching their first electric vehicles in India within the next two years. But unlike China, India has not worked towards securing the essential natural resources required for electric mobility, such as Lithium; nor has India worked towards building the necessary infrastructure required to enable electric mobility. The Government needs to realise that the private sector will not make the investments needed unless it does the same. The Government needs to invest through public sector companies to corner resources across the globe as well as lay out the charging and support infrastructure required for electric mobility. The lack of interest by Government servants in adopting electric vehicles acquired by Energy Efficiency Services Limited is a case-study on the overall disinterest of the public at large towards electric mobility.
At the same time, while new roads and airports are being built, this Government and the next need to literally step on the accelerator when it comes to transportation infrastructure building. India is so under-served that any additional capacity added gets absorbed well before the time-frame builders envisaged, like the Delhi Airport. There will be environmental opposition towards some projects as well as political opposition, but those needs have to be managed. Some of the opposition is nothing but ‘Not In My Back Yard’ (NIMBY) opposition, where individuals want to protect their way of life, without thinking of their own city and future generations of Indians who have to move around. That said, bad planning and poor environmental assessment reports must be avoided at all costs so that transportation projects continue at a decent clip. Getting India to move ahead will be a major challenge, not just today but tomorrow and the day-after and we need political and social unity on this mission.