India now possesses $721 billion in foreign reserves and with the consumption of 1.8 billion barrels of crude oil per year, which totally amounts to 85% of imports of crude, at current rates India pays about $190-$200 billion per year for imports of oil alone. Also, usage of petrol and diesel results in pollution to a great extent due to the emission of greenhouse gases. It is also known that import of Lithium-ion batteries means that India has to spend about $1.85 billion every year at current levels and thus switching over to EVs will in the long run benefit India as far as conserving foreign exchange is concerned. At present rates it is estimated that $12 billion in reserves annually can be saved if 20% of petrol and diesel vehicles are replaced with EVs and in the long run this will keep on saving foreign exchanges. In light of these figures, it would be prudent that India steadily switches over to EVs not only to save foreign exchange but also to considerably improve the air quality index of our cities and towns.
ELVIDIO MIRANDA, Via email
