Discuss the significance of electric mobility as a 'strategic imperative' for India's energy security and Net Zero commitments. Examine the role of indices like the India Electric Mobility Index in driving cooperative federalism.

Launching the India Electric Mobility Index (IEMI), NITI Aayog Member Rajiv Gauba described the EV transition as an economic, environmental and strategic imperative for Net Zero by 2070 and Viksit Bharat @2047 [1]. Yet with EVs at only ~7.6% of 2024 sales against a 30%-by-2030 target [1], intent still outruns delivery.

Why electric mobility is a strategic imperative

• Energy security: transport runs largely on imported crude; electrification shifts demand to a domestically generated, increasingly renewable fuel.
• Climate: road transport is a major source of urban air pollution and emissions, making it central to the Net Zero 2070 pledge [1].
• Economic: NITI Aayog estimates a $200 billion opportunity in EVs, spanning manufacturing, batteries and jobs [2].
• Caveat: batteries need lithium, nickel and cobalt, for which India is import-dependent [3] — hence the National Critical Mineral Mission (2025, Rs 16,300 crore), covering exploration to recycling [4].

IEMI and cooperative federalism

• It scores all States/UTs on 16 indicators across three themes — electrification progress, charging readiness, R&D [1] — creating a common yardstick where none existed.
• Two themes measure what a state builds, not merely what citizens buy, so effort is rewarded and peer learning replaces blame.
• Frontrunners Delhi, Maharashtra and Chandigarh [1] set benchmarks, converting ranking into competitive federalism.
• Crucially, the decisive levers — road tax, registration fees, charging tariffs, land — are state subjects; only 19 States/UTs currently offer EV road-tax rebates [5].
• Limitation: the index carries neither funds nor sanction. The Standing Committee on Industry found only 7,432 of 22,000 FAME-II chargers actually built [5] — a gap no scoreboard can close.

IEMI is best used as a diagnostic that tells a state which indicator it is failing on, rather than as a league table. Paired with mission-mode incentives, mandated charging at government premises and battery standardisation [5], persuasion can mature into delivery — making cooperative federalism the engine of India's clean-mobility transition.