Shri Rajiv Gauba Calls Electric Mobility a "Strategic Imperative" for Viksit Bharat as NITI Aayog Launches Second Edition of India Electric Mobility Index

1. At a Glance

• India Electric Mobility Index (IEMI) is NITI Aayog's benchmarking tool tracking States/UTs progress on electric vehicle (EV) transition. [1]
• Second edition launched with NITI Aayog Member Shri Rajiv Gauba calling electric mobility a "strategic imperative" for Viksit Bharat @2047. [2]
• Relevant for Prelims (index parameters, launching body) and Mains GS-III (energy security, climate commitments, EV ecosystem). [1][2]
• Frontrunner states in the first edition: Delhi, Maharashtra, Chandigarh. [1]

2. Why in the News

• NITI Aayog launched the second edition of the India Electric Mobility Index, with Member Rajiv Gauba terming EV transition an economic, environmental and strategic imperative for Viksit Bharat, linking it to India's Net Zero by 2070 commitment. [2]

3. Background & Evolution

• IEMI's first edition was launched in 2024/2025 as a "pioneering" tool to track States/UTs' progress in EV transition, alongside the report "Unlocking a $200 Billion Opportunity: Electric Vehicles in India". [1][3]
• Built on NITI Aayog's earlier electric mobility groundwork, including status-quo analyses of electric mobility segments. [1]
• Second edition continues and refines the index, reflecting updated state-level data. [2]

4. Core Static Facts

• Implementing/launching body: NITI Aayog. [1]
• Key officials: Rajiv Gauba (Member, NITI Aayog); B.V.R. Subrahmanyam (CEO, NITI Aayog). [1]
• Index structure: 16 indicators across 3 themes — (i) Transport Electrification Progress/EV Adoption, (ii) Charging Infrastructure Readiness, (iii) EV Research & Innovation/Technology Status. [2]
• National EV sales share (2024): ~7.6%, against a target of 30% EV sales by 2030. [1]
• Top-ranked states/UTs (1st edition): Delhi, Maharashtra, Chandigarh. [1]
• Aligns state ambitions with National Electric Mobility Mission and national Climate Action Plans. [2]

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

• Economic: EV sector framed as a $200 billion opportunity; index aims to guide states to attract EV investment and manufacturing. [3]
• Environmental: Directly tied to India's Net Zero by 2070 pledge and decarbonization goals. [2]
• Strategic/Energy Security: Reduces oil import dependence; Gauba links EV adoption to national energy security. [2]
• Administrative/Federalism: Index enables state benchmarking, peer learning, and identification of policy bottlenecks — a cooperative federalism tool. [2]
• Scientific/Technological: One theme dedicated to EV R&D and innovation, tracking supply-side technology capacity. [2]
• Social: Framed as improving "quality of living" for citizens via cleaner mobility. [2]

6. Recent Developments (last 12-18 months)

• 2024/2025: First edition of IEMI launched along with the "$200 Billion Opportunity" EV report. [1][3]
• 2025-26: NITI Aayog launched PACT and a ZET (Zero Emission Truck) marketplace to push freight electrification. [4]
• 2026: Second edition of IEMI launched; Gauba calls EV transition a "strategic imperative" for Viksit Bharat. [2]
• NITI Aayog data shows India's EV sales share (7.6% in 2024) remains well short of the 30%-by-2030 target. [1]

7. Prelims Hooks

• IEMI stands for India Electric Mobility Index, launched by NITI Aayog. [1]
• IEMI uses 16 indicators across 3 themes. [2]
• The three themes: Transport Electrification Progress, Charging Infrastructure Readiness, EV Research & Innovation Status. [2]
• First edition top performers: Delhi, Maharashtra, Chandigarh. [1]
• National EV sales target: 30% by 2030. [1]
• Actual EV sales share in 2024: ~7.6%. [1]
• NITI Aayog report accompanying IEMI's first edition: "Unlocking a $200 Billion Opportunity: Electric Vehicles in India." [3]
• NITI Aayog Member associated with the index launch: Rajiv Gauba. [1][2]
• NITI Aayog CEO at time of first edition launch: B.V.R. Subrahmanyam. [1]
• India's climate pledge linked to EV push: Net Zero by 2070. [2]
• Long-term vision framework cited: Viksit Bharat @2047. [2]
• IEMI is described as India's "pioneering" state-level EV benchmarking tool. [1]
• NITI Aayog also launched PACT and a ZET marketplace for freight electrification. [4]

8. An Index Can Rank States, But It Cannot Make Them Act

• NITI Aayog has no power to order a state to do anything
• IEMI only measures and ranks [1]. It carries no money and no penalty.
• The levers that actually decide whether people buy an EV sit with states — road tax, registration fee, electricity tariff for chargers, land for charging points.

• So a low rank is embarrassing for a state, but it costs that state nothing.

• The proof is road tax, the single cheapest EV push a state can give

• The Standing Committee on Industry (2023) found only 19 States/UTs give road tax exemption or rebate on EVs [6].
• That means the rest — more than half the country — still tax an EV like a petrol car.

• The Committee had to request the Ministry to "convince" the remaining states [6]. Convince, not direct. That one word shows the limit of a ranking tool.

• Why this matters for your answer: calling IEMI a cooperative federalism tool is correct, but cooperative federalism here means persuasion only. Write it as a soft instrument, not a delivery mechanism.

9. Charging Points: Sanctioned on Paper, Missing on the Road

• Under FAME-II, two out of three sanctioned chargers were never built
• 22,000 charging stations were sanctioned under FAME-II; only 7,432 were actually set up [6].
• The money followed the same pattern: of Rs 912.50 crore kept for charging stations under FAME-II, about Rs 633.44 crore was spent [5].

• So the gap is not only money. Sanctioning is quick; finding land, getting a power connection and a viable tariff is slow.

• Why a charger company loses money even when sites exist

• A public charger earns only when vehicles come. Today few EVs pass by, so the machine sits idle.
• But the operator still pays a fixed electricity demand charge every month for the connection.

• That is why the Committee asked the Ministry of Power to push charging during solar hours and charging at office premises — to spread the load and fill idle hours [6].

• The number to quote: roughly 29,000 public charging stations exist across the whole country [5], against a target of 30% of all new vehicle sales being electric by 2030 [1]. Charging supply is the binding constraint, not buyer interest.

10. We Cut the Oil Import and Pick Up a Mineral Import

• The energy security argument is only half true
• EVs do reduce our crude oil import bill. That part of Gauba's claim stands [2].
• But a lithium-ion battery is made from lithium, nickel, cobalt and copper, and India depends on imports for these minerals [8].

• A battery is roughly the costliest single part of an EV. So the import shifts from oil to minerals, and mineral supply is held by far fewer countries than oil is.

• Government has accepted this gap and acted on it

• The Cabinet approved the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) on 29 January 2025, for seven years (2024-25 to 2030-31), with an outlay of Rs 16,300 crore [7].
• NCMM covers the full chain — exploration, mining, processing, and recovery from end-of-life products (recycling) [7].

• Budget 2025-26 removed customs duty on cobalt powder, lithium-ion battery scrap and 12 other critical minerals, to feed Indian battery factories [7].

• Exam line: electric mobility converts an energy security problem into a mineral security problem. Real energy security arrives only when cell manufacturing and mineral recycling happen inside India.

11. The Same Fault Line That Slowed FAME-II

• The 7.6% figure is not a slow start — it is a repeat
• India's EV share of sales was about 7.6% in 2024, against the 30%-by-2030 goal [1].
• The Standing Committee on Industry found that the number of vehicles supported under FAME-II had to be cut below the original target, and recommended extending the scheme by at least three years and widening it to more four-wheelers [6].

• So the target was missed once already, under a scheme that had money attached. IEMI has no money attached.

• Why targets keep slipping in this sector

• Demand incentives (FAME, PM E-DRIVE) sit with the Ministry of Heavy Industries; electricity tariffs sit with state regulators; road tax sits with states; minerals sit with the Ministry of Mines.
• No single body controls all four. A subsidy alone cannot fix a missing charger or a high road tax.
• This is exactly why NITI Aayog reached for a ranking index — but a scoreboard cannot join four ministries either.

12. Is It Fair to Rank Delhi and Chandigarh Against a Large State?

• The objection is real and you should state it before answering it
• The first edition's top three were Delhi, Maharashtra and Chandigarh [1].
• Delhi and Chandigarh are small, dense, rich and almost fully urban. Short trips suit an EV. One charger there serves many users.

• A large state with long rural distances, weaker power supply and lower incomes cannot match that, however hard it tries. Ranking them on the same scale looks unfair.

• But the objection does not defeat the index, for two reasons

• IEMI's 16 indicators sit in three themes, and two of them — Charging Infrastructure Readiness and EV Research & Innovation — measure what a state builds, not just what its citizens buy [2]. A poor state can score on effort.

• Before IEMI there was no common, published, state-wise picture of EV readiness at all [1]. Even an imperfect common yardstick lets a state see which specific indicator it is failing on.

• Honest conclusion for an answer: use IEMI as a diagnosis tool, not as a league table. The useful output is the weak indicator, not the rank number.

13. What Should Change, and Who Must Do It

• States should drop road tax on EVs, and the Ministry of Heavy Industries should push the remaining ones

• Only 19 States/UTs currently give this rebate [6]. It costs a state little and cuts the buyer's upfront price immediately.

• Government and PSU premises should be made to install chargers

• The Standing Committee recommended mandating charging stations at PSU and government premises [6].

• These sites already have land and a power connection — the two things private operators struggle to get.

• Open charger ownership to small local players

• The Committee asked for incentives to private investors, women self-help groups and cooperative societies to run charging stations [6].

• This matters because a small local owner accepts a smaller profit than a big company needs, so a charger becomes viable in a small town.

• Fix the battery side, not only the vehicle side

• The Committee recommended a feasibility study on battery standardisation and a battery-swapping policy, so a rider can exchange a drained battery instead of waiting to charge [6].
• It also asked government to speed up extraction of the lithium reserves found in Jammu & Kashmir and Rajasthan [6].
• Alongside, NCMM's recycling arm should be scaled so old batteries become the next mine [7].

14. Anchors for Answers

• Data: 22,000 charging stations sanctioned under FAME-II, only 7,432 set up [6]
• Data: ~29,000 public EV charging stations in the country; Rs 912.50 crore allocated under FAME-II for charging, ~Rs 633.44 crore spent; Rs 2,000 crore under PM E-DRIVE [5]
• Data: EV share of sales ~7.6% in 2024 against a 30%-by-2030 target [1]
• Data: only 19 States/UTs give road tax exemption or rebate on EVs [6]
• Report/Committee: Standing Committee on Industry, 'Promotion of Electric Vehicles in the Country', December 2023 (Chair: Tiruchi Siva) [6]
• Scheme: National Critical Mineral Mission — approved 29 January 2025, seven years (2024-25 to 2030-31), Rs 16,300 crore outlay, covers exploration to recycling [7]
• Scheme: FAME-II and PM E-DRIVE (Ministry of Heavy Industries) — demand incentives, contrasted with IEMI which is only a measurement tool [5][1]
• Supply-side fact: India is import-dependent for lithium, nickel, cobalt and copper, the core battery minerals [8]

15. Mains Relevance

• GS-III: Infrastructure; Energy; Environment & Climate Change; Science & Technology — indigenization of technology; Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation.
• GS-II: Government policies and interventions; federalism (Centre-State cooperative mechanisms via benchmarking indices).
• Possible question stems: 1. 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. (GS-III/II) 2. India's EV sales remain far below its 2030 target despite policy pushes. Analyse the structural bottlenecks in EV adoption and suggest measures. (GS-III) 3. Examine how state-level benchmarking tools launched by NITI Aayog contribute to achieving national sustainability and Viksit Bharat goals. (GS-II)

16. Related Topics to Study Next

• FAME India Scheme (I & II) — direct predecessor EV subsidy scheme; compare with IEMI's benchmarking role.
• PM E-DRIVE Scheme — successor EV incentive scheme post-FAME.
• National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020 — earliest policy framework for EV promotion in India.
• India's Net Zero 2070 pledge (COP26) — the climate commitment IEMI is aligned to.
• Viksit Bharat @2047 — overarching national vision framework referenced by Gauba.
• PACT & ZET Marketplace — NITI Aayog's freight electrification initiatives, thematically linked.
• Battery Swapping Policy & PLI Scheme for ACC (Advanced Chemistry Cell) battery storage — supply-side EV ecosystem support.
• NITI Aayog's institutional role — as a policy think tank facilitating cooperative federalism via such indices.

17. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Do not confuse NITI Aayog (policy think tank, no statutory/constitutional backing) with a ministry — IEMI is NOT issued by the Ministry of Heavy Industries (which runs FAME/PM E-DRIVE).
• Do not confuse IEMI (a state benchmarking index) with FAME or PM E-DRIVE (subsidy/incentive schemes) — different instruments, different objectives.
• Note the EV sales target is 30% by 2030 — aspirational (not derived from a single binding statute), often mixed up with sector-specific sub-targets.
• Rajiv Gauba is NITI Aayog Member (former Cabinet Secretary), not NITI Aayog CEO — avoid conflating with B.V.R. Subrahmanyam (CEO).
• IEMI's three themes are commonly mis-numbered — remember it's 16 indicators / 3 themes, not vice versa.