India is pushing hard to minimize the number of pollution-emitting vehicles on roads, according to a report by Reuters, and the Indian government has ordered cab-aggregators like Ola and Uber to electrify at least 40% of their fleet by 2026.

The government wants the cab companies to start the process of adding electric vehicles to their fleet by as early as next year. As per the report, officials have set a target of 2.5% electrification by 2021, 5% by 2022, 10% by 2023 and 40% by 2026.

It’s not that the cab companies operating in India have not tried to electrify their vehicles before. Ola tried to include electric vehicles in its fleet but had to pull out due to lack of infrastructure and high operational cost.

The order by the government is seen as a measure to meet the commitment it promised under the 2015 Paris climate change treaty. The push towards electric vehicles will also help India in cutting down the money spent on oil imports. The idea is to “push electrification through public transport.”

Niti Aayog – the think tank of the Indian government along with other ministries including renewable energy, road and transport and the department of heavy industries and trade have also recommended that all the new cars sold for commercial purposes should be electric starting from 2026.

Additionally, motorcycles and scooters sold for the purpose of delivery should also be electric from 2023.

Before adopting the electrification of vehicles, the government needs to setup infrastructure like power charging stations and provide subsidies to electric car manufacturers to make sure that the adoption is not hurdled by operational cost and feasibility.

What do you think about the Indian government’s order? What extra measures does India need to take to curb pollution?