Dr. Atul R Thakare

This December marks my completion of four years of being an ‘EV user.’ Boasting myself as an early adopter of technology, I bought the e-bike in the B.C. (Before COVID) era. The excitement or euphoria of being the torchbearer of the Green Technology triumphed over the initial teething problems with the EV. However, after using it extensively for four years, particularly, when many people have adopted EVs in the last couple of years for their daily commute, I can say that electric is the future of the mobility sector at least in the two and three-wheeler segments in India . But then the most important question comes, how sustainable EVs or electric mobility is? When the world is seriously talking about SDG (Sustainability Development Goals) and corporates mulling over ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) issues globally, sustainability is the keyword for the future of mobility.  The recent COP 28 summit in Dubai also aims to reduce emissions through pragmatic energy and cre...

It’s been two years now that I have been using an EV (an electric bike, rather the first e-bike of India) and a lot has changed in the last two years in the electric mobility space which can be called a revolution. From the last couple of years, COVID 19 had adversely impacted the penetration of EVs in India and so the rEVoution which was supposed to take place by mid-2021 is visible now. The automotive industry is going through a transition switching to alternative and less energy-intensive options of mobility due to two reasons: first the rising fuel prices and then the environmental concern. I haven’t seen such excitement for electric vehicles as I am seeing right now. At the start of 2020, there were hardly any EVs on the Pune roads, whereas in 2022, I could see at least a dozen vehicles with green number plates plying on the same roads in Pune. However, there’s still a long way to go. EV demand got a fillip of late as fuel prices soared, making many buyers of conventional vehicles...