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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

President takes prompt cognizance

Mumbai: President Droupadi Murmu has taken immediate cognizance of a plea pointing at grave insults to the Indian Tricolour (Tiranga) in pubs and hotels, violations to the Flag Code of India, 2002, in the name of celebrating Republic Day and Independence Day. Pune businessman-cum-activist Prafful Sarda had shot off a complaint to the President on Jan. 26 but was surprised to receive a response from her office in less than 72 hours. Under Secretary Lakshmi Maharabooshanam in the President’s...

President takes prompt cognizance

Mumbai: President Droupadi Murmu has taken immediate cognizance of a plea pointing at grave insults to the Indian Tricolour (Tiranga) in pubs and hotels, violations to the Flag Code of India, 2002, in the name of celebrating Republic Day and Independence Day. Pune businessman-cum-activist Prafful Sarda had shot off a complaint to the President on Jan. 26 but was surprised to receive a response from her office in less than 72 hours. Under Secretary Lakshmi Maharabooshanam in the President’s Secretariat at Rashtrapati Bhavan, replied to Sarda on forwarding his complaint to the Ministry of Home Affairs for necessary action. It further stated that action taken in the matter must be conveyed directly to Sarda. “It’s a pleasant surprise indeed that the President has taken serious note of the issue of insults to the National Flag at night-clubs, pubs, lounges, sports bars and other places all over the country. The blatant mishandling of the National Flag also violates the specially laid-down provisions of the Flag Code of India,” said Sarda. He pointed out that the Tricolor is a sacred symbol and not a ‘commercial prop’ for entertainment purposes to be used by artists without disregard for the rules. “There are multiple videos, reels or photos available on social media… It's painful to view how the National Flag is being grossly misused, disrespected and even displayed at late nights or early morning hours, flouting the rules,” Sarda said. The more worrisome aspect is that such transgressions are occurring openly, repeatedly and apparently without any apprehensions for the potential consequences. This indicates serious lapses in the enforcement and supervision, but such unchecked abuse could portend dangerous signals that national symbols can be ‘trivialized and traded for profits’. He urged the President to direct the issue of stringent written guidelines with circular to all such private or commercial outlets on mandatory compliance with the Flag Code of India, conduct special awareness drives, surprise checks on such venues and regular inspections to curb the misuse of the Tricolour. Flag Code of India, 2002 Perturbed over the “perceptible lack of awareness” not only among the masses but also governmental agencies with regard to the laws, practices and conventions for displaying the National Flag as per the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 and the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, the centre had brought out the detailed 25-page Flag Code of India, 2002. The Flag Code of India has minute guidelines on the display of the Tricolour, the happy occasions when it flies high, or the sad times when it is at half-mast, the privileged dignitaries who are entitled to display it on their vehicles, etc. Certain violations attract hefty fines and/or imprisonment till three years.

India will have 123 million electric vehicles on-road by 2032: Report

  • PTI
  • May 6, 2025
  • 2 min read


New Delhi: India will have 123 million electric vehicles (EVs) on the road by 2032, after getting a boost from the incentives of the National EV Targets (NEV), according to a joint report by IESA (India Energy Storage Alliance) and CES (Customized Energy Solutions).



The report estimates that India's cumulative on-road lithium-ion electric vehicle (EV) population increased nearly twelvefold, rising from 0.35 million in 2019 to 4.4 million in 2024.



This rapid growth has been fuelled by supportive government policies, such as the FAME-II scheme, which offers demand incentives for electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and four-wheelers, along with capital subsidies for public charging infrastructure.



It further highlighted that electric two and three-wheelers together accounted for over 93 per cent of India's on-road EV stock in 2024. In contrast, electric four-wheelers represented around 6 per cent, while electric buses and trucks comprised less than 1 per cent.



Notably, the personal electric four-wheeler (E4W) segment has emerged as a key driver of the country's expanding private and home charging ecosystem.



As per the report, in 2024, there were approximately 220,000 personal electric four-wheelers (E4Ws) on roads, most of which depended on Type-2 AC chargers installed in residential areas.



By that same year, India had an estimated 320,000 private Type-2 AC chargers, with 70 per cent being 3.3 kW units, 28 per cent 7.4 kW units, and the remaining 11-22 kW units classified as high-capacity.



India had roughly 76,000 cumulative public and captive charging points in 2024, with a combined installed capacity of 1.3 GW.



While AC-001 chargers made up nearly half of all installed points, the overall installed capacity was dominated by CCS2 chargers, reflecting the growing demand for high-power DC fast charging.



Commenting on the report, Debmalya Sen, President of IESA, said, " To support the projected EV growth, we can anticipate that India's cumulative installed EV charging points--public and captive--will need to grow nearly 12 to 28 times, from around 76,000 in 2024 to between 0.9 million and 2.1 million by 2032. Installed charging capacity must also scale more than 17 times, rising from 1.3 GW to 23 GW, depending on EV adoption and infrastructure utilisation levels."



Vinayak Walimbe, the Managing Director of Customized Energy Solutions India Pvt Ltd. says, "The NEV scenario is based on the EV30@30 ambition, assuming that by 2030, EV penetration reaches 80 per cent for electric two- and three-wheelers, 30 per cent for private electric four-wheelers, 70 per cent for commercial cars, and 40 per cent for electric buses--fully aligning with NITI Aayog's vision for transport electrification."



By 2032, the projected stock of electric vehicles (EVs) is expected to reach approximately 4.3 million, 5.8 million, and 10 million electric four-wheelers under the Worst Case, Business as Usual (BAU), and New Energy Vehicle (NEV) scenarios, respectively.



In addition, electric buses and trucks could grow to around 450,000, 750,000, and 1.1 million units. These two segments are crucial drivers of demand for both captive and public charging infrastructure, particularly for high-power DC fast charging.

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