India's Electric Vehicle Roadmap for 2023

• India's future for electric vehicles is bright because of ambitious government goals and technological breakthroughs.
• With around 40 crore people in need of mobility solutions by the year 2030, India is currently the fifth-largest vehicle market in the world and has the potential to become one of the top three in the near future.

Electric vehicle roadmap:

• With the government outlining a thorough plan to reach this goal, which includes many programs and laws to speed up the adoption of electric vehicles in the nation, India has set an ambitious aim to become a leader in the market for electric vehicles by 2030.
• The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) programme, which offers discounts to consumers who buy electric vehicles, is one of the major projects.
• The extension of the FAME programme (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) to March 31, 2024 will help promote the use of electric vehicles.
• The government is also taking action in this area to build up domestic manufacturing capacity for electric vehicles and their parts.

Need for Electric Vehicles:

India needs a revolution in transportation.

• It is not feasible to continue on the current path of introducing increasingly more cars that use expensive imported gasoline and clog up already crowded cities that suffer from infrastructural constraints and severe air pollution.
• A possible global solution for decarbonizing the transportation sector is the shift to electric mobility.
• India's Assistance for EVs One of the few nations that supports the Global EV30@30 initiative, which seeks to have at least 30% of new vehicle sales be electric by 2030, is India.
• At the COP26 in Glasgow, India committed to the same by supporting "Panchamrit," which consists of five aspects to combat climate change
• Encouragement of electric transportation will lessen reliance on oil imports and release foreign exchange reserves.
• Demand will be boosted in 2023 by a significant increase in the mass-market segment of private vehicles, especially in Tier II and III cities.
• To boost manufacturing of EV parts and components in India to gain aatmanirbharta and create an innovative ecosystem.

Associated Challenges:

Battery Manufacturing:

• It is predicted that India's total battery consumption by 2020–30 will be between 900–1100 GWh.
• The lack of a battery manufacturing base in India, which forces a complete reliance on imports to fulfil expanding demand, is of concern.

Issues Concerning Consumers:

• India was said to have only 650 charge stations in 2018, which is far fewer than its neighbours who have more than 5 million.
• Because there aren't enough charging stations, consumers can't travel far.
• In addition, using a private light-duty slow charger at the owner's house can take a vehicle up to 12 hours to fully charge.

Policy Obstacles:

• The production of electric vehicles is a capital-intensive industry that requires long-term planning to break even and realise profits. Uncertainty about government regulations pertaining to EV production deters investment in the field.

Lack of Technology and Skilled Labor:

• India lacks the technological capacity to produce the essential electronics—batteries, semiconductors, controllers, etc.—that are the foundation of the EV industry.
• EV maintenance expenses are greater and need for more advanced abilities. India needs specific training programmes for acquiring these skills.

Lack of Materials for Domestic Production:

• The battery is the most crucial element in EVs.
• Lithium and cobalt, which are necessary for the manufacture of batteries, are not known to exist in reserves in India.

Programs to promote electric vehicles:

• A government program called FAME I & II: Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles offers financial incentives for EV purchases and the construction of charging stations.
• By 2030, at least 30% of the vehicles on Indian roadways are expected to be electric, according to the NEMMP (National Electric Mobility Mission Plan, which was introduced in 2020).
• Public transportation: By offering financial aid to states for the purchase of electric buses, the government has also made efforts to encourage the use of electric cars in this area.

For instance, Delhi's E-buses

• National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Storage: Government plans to promote strategies for revolutionary mobility and phased manufacturing programs for electric vehicles, electric vehicle components, and batteries.

• Making sure there is last-mile connectivity: The government has also recognised last-mile mobility as a significant industry that will encourage the use of electric vehicles. For instance, deploying a fleet of more than 5,000 trucks in Chennai
• Government promotion of electric vehicles: The government intends to replace current government vehicles with electric vehicles in an effort to encourage the usage of electric vehicles in the public sector.

Advantages of EVs:

• Cost reduction: As technology advances and economies of scale grow, the price of EVs continues to come down.
• Convenience: A lot of electric cars can be charged at home using a regular electrical outlet, so you won't need to go to a gas station.
• Energy stability: EVs don't require as much imported oil because they are powered by indigenous electricity.
• Environmental advantages: EVs produce no emissions and can greatly cut down on greenhouse gas emissions as well as air pollution.
• Energy independence: By using more renewable energy sources to power EVs, dependence on fossil fuels may decline.

Conclusion:

• R&D in EVs should be expanded since the Indian market needs support for homegrown technologies that are appropriate for the country from an economic and strategic perspective.
• It makes sense to take use of nearby colleges and established industrial centres because funding for local R&D is essential for lowering pricing.
• India should coordinate EV development with nations like the UK.
• Overall, electric vehicles are a better, more economical, and more environmentally friendly option than conventional gasoline-powered ones. With the right infrastructure and regulations in place, they can also significantly improve energy independence while lowering air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

National Tourism Day & Tourism In India

• Every year on January 25, the nation observes National Tourism Day to recognize India's beauty and raise awareness of the value of tourism and its effects on the nation's economy.
• Under the auspices of "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav," a 75-week long grand festival to honor 75 years of India's independence, the Ministry of Tourism is commemorating National Tourism Day.
• Ecotourism, cruises, business, sports, educational, rural, and medical travel are just a few of the different types of tourism offered by India.
• National Tourism Day 2023 does not yet have a theme. However, like in previous years, the subject will centre on promoting tourism in India. Rural and community-focused tourism served as the theme for National Tourism Day 2022.
• Village of Pochampally in Telangana: The primary event is being organized by the federal government in the Telangana village of Pochampally, a weavers' hamlet outside of Hyderabad.
• Pochampally, which is well-known for its hand-woven Ikat sarees, was chosen as one of the top tourist destinations by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in 2021.

The Indian tourism industry:

• The largest service sector in India in 2018 was travel and tourism, which was valued at $234 billion.
• The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates that the Indian tourism sector contributed $194 billion, or 6.8% of India's GDP, to the country's GDP in 2019.
• In India, the tourist industry is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 6.9% to $460 billion by 2028, or 9.9% of GDP.
• In terms of the total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in 2021, India is ranked sixth by the World Travel and Tourism Council.
• In 2021, the travel and tourism industry generated 32.1 million employment, or 6.9% of all jobs, contributing 5.8% to GDP.

Tourism in India:

• The Himalayan state of Sikkim was determined to be the most organic state in contemporary India. Approximately 47.3% of the state is said to be covered in forests.
• India's North Sentinel Island is one of the planet's unspoiled locales. The Sentinelese people live on the island and have cut themselves off from the outside world.
• There are 566 wildlife sanctuaries in the nation as a whole. The biggest wildlife refuge in the nation is located in Rajasthan, at Ranthambore National Park.
• Mawlynnong, in the Indian state of Meghalaya, is considered to be the cleanest village in Asia.

Issues / Problems:

• Lack of Training and Skill Development: It is evident that practical training is crucial because the tourist industry is a labor-intensive one.
• However, the expansion of India's tourist industry has not kept up with the supply of trained labour over the years.
• Overexploitation of Resources: Unsustainable tourism frequently overuses natural resources, especially in India's Himalayan regions where resources are already in short supply.
• Unsustainable tourism has an impact on the local environment as well, leading to soil erosion, increasing pollution, and the loss of natural habitats for endangered species.
• Fear of Uncertainty: Because of the coronavirus's proliferation and the enforcement of social distance rules, people are afraid and reluctant to leave their homes.
• International travel was prohibited in most nations to stop the coronavirus from spreading, thus there weren't any foreign visitors. As a result, the Indian tourism industry saw fewer visitors than in the past and generated no foreign exchange revenues.
• Loss of revenue during COVID-19: People aren't prepared to leave their homes and aren't interested in taking excursions. The Indian tourism industry forecasted a revenue loss of Rs. 1.25 trillion due to the closure of tourist locations, monuments, and heritage sites, and the lack of visitor arrival.

How can India promote sustainable tourism?

• Responsible, inclusive, environmentally friendly, and hospitable tourism All parties participating in tourist management need to be subject to the same set of rules in order to ensure better accountability.
• In order for warm hospitality to flourish, it is crucial to promote green tourism that causes little disruption to the natural ecosystem and maintain sustainable infrastructure.
• Integrated Travel System: To determine popular tourism sites around the nation as well as key markets and segments, a thorough market research and evaluation exercise can be conducted.
• A digital unified system that promotes the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat can then be created to map these locations and advertise them on social media.

Governmental programs:

• National Conference on Tourist Police: The Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Home Affairs organised the National Conference on Tourist Police in October 2022 to develop tourist-specific policing, with the goal of collaborating with the police and educating them on how to address the needs of both domestic and foreign tourists.
• To foster young ambassadors for Indian tourism, the Tourism Ministry has started developing "Yuva Tourism" clubs in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.
• The announcement of "Visit India Year 2023" by the Ministry of Tourist intends to boost India's market share in the international tourism industry by promoting a variety of travel-related goods and locations.

Way Forward

• Players in the tourism industry would need to reconsider new business models, and innovation and virtual approaches would need to be put into practise.
• Tourism's ability to bounce back and revitalize domestic travel while maintaining cleanliness and safety at tour stops. The emphasis is on promoting domestic tourism because the revival of foreign tourist will take some time.
• Along with taking hygienic and safety precautions, travelers need to alter their travel habits.
• Every government must implement lockdown measures like social seclusion, mandatory masks, and the like in addition to removing travel limitations with the correct medication and better immunity capability.

Buddhist Monastery Found in Bharatpur

• The Structural Complex of the Buddhist Monastery was uncovered in the recent digs in continuity with the massive stupa, black and red ware pottery, and sculptures recovered from excavation done at the same site in West Bengal fifty years ago.

More on the news:

• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) discovered a large Monastery complex during an excavation in the Paschim Bardhaman region of West Bengal.
• A small circular construction and nine layers of brick that make up the monastery's exterior wall have been discovered.

Buddhism in West Bengal:

• During the heyday of the Mahayana and Vajrayana schools, the area served as a stronghold for the ancient Buddhist Mauryan and Pala empires. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the ancient Buddhist Kingdom of Mrauk U ruled over South-Eastern Bengal.

Significance of the Excavation:

• A Buddhist Stupa was discovered at the site in 1972, prompting archaeologists from ASI to begin the site's initial excavation between 1972 and 1975.
• The expansion of Buddhism in the South West Bengal region may be traced with the use of excavations.
• The discovery is especially notable since the village settlement on the Damodar River was made feasible by the use of black and red ware ceramics from the Chalcolithic period.
• While the town gives the location a secular character, the complex gives it a religious one.
• The discovered stupa is substantial in comparison to votive stupas discovered at other Buddhist sites in the state, such as Karnasubarna in Murshidabad, Moghalamari in Paschim Medinipur, and Jagjivanpur in Malda.

About Buddhist monastery:

• A monastery is a place for a group of people, either men or women (monks or nuns), who have chosen to live in seclusion and build a new society centred around religious practice.
• Buddhist nuns or monks offer prayers on behalf of the faithful. Usually, the monastery becomes the centre of spirituality for the nearby hamlet or town.
• The objective is to realise nirvana (liberation), which is to be released into the infinite condition of oneness with everything, and to realise moksha, which is freedom or release from attachment to ego or the material world, an end to samsara.

National voter day 2023

The Election Commission of India celebrated the 13th National Voters' Day (NVD) on January 25, 2023.

About National Voters Day:

• Since 2011, it has been observed on January 25 each year to commemorate the founding date of the Election Commission of India, which was 25 January 1950.
• The primary goal of the NVD celebration is to increase voter participation by raising voter awareness among the populace.
• In the NVD events hosted across the nation, new voters are honoured and given their Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC).
• One of the biggest celebrations in the nation, it is observed at the federal, state, district, constituency, and voting booth levels.
• This year's NVD is dedicated to voters with the topic "Nothing Like Voting, I Vote for Sure." It expresses a person's desire to participate in the election process by exercising their right to vote.

Deciphering the Logo:

• The purpose of the logo is to convey the joy and inclusivity of the political process. The tick symbol in the logo represents the voter making an informed choice.
• The inked finger signifies the participation of each and every voter in the nation.
• The Ashoka Chakra in the background symbolizes the largest democracy in the world.