Feedback Advisory

28Jul

Scope for Electric Vehicles in India

July 28, 2022 Feedback Advisory 33

Electric Vehicles or EVs as they are popularly known, have already made their foray into India for good. But is India really ready to embrace EVs in a full-fledged manner? Read on to find out more…

Introduction

At the outset, any automobile expert worth his salt would vouch for the fact that the future of EV in India looks really promising. And with the rapidly surging fossil fuel prices virtually hitting the roof, consumers are frantically scouting for alternative sources of energy that can power their vehicles, without burning a hole in their pockets.

Across the globe, there has been a huge clamour for sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives that can effectively replace their fossil fuel counterparts, whose days are increasingly numbered. It is here that the advent of electric vehicles assumes more significance than ever.

Many developed and industrialized nations such as the US, the UK, France, Germany, Norway and other countries in the European Union have taken a proactive stance in this regard by introducing laws that aim to curb the promotion of vehicles running on fossil fuels four years down the line.

India too, has joined the bandwagon in accordance with its aspirations to emerge as a force to be reckoned with on the global arena in the near future as far the marketing and usage of electric vehicles is concerned. The advantages that arrive with the use of e-transportation in India are far too great to be ignored.

Market Scenario for EVs in India

In the two-wheeler sector in particular, the country boasts of the leading unexploited market for EVs across the globe. As EVs are being launched expeditiously by various automobile manufacturers over the last few years, the foray of these vehicles into the consumer market has augmented remarkably.

According to the latest research, by 2025, the EV market is estimated to be valued at a minimum of ₹475 billion. Also, by 2025, the permeation of electric two-wheelers into the Indian auto market is slated to attain 15% by 2025 from the present 1%.

Initiatives taken by the Indian Government to promote EVs

With the Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi’s strong emphasis on the Make in India initiative, the mass production of EVs has gained even more momentum of late. The manufacturing sector is slated to become the biggest beneficiary in this regard, what with the global leader in EV manufacturing, Tesla, all set to foray into the Indian automobile sphere very soon.

The Government of India (GoI) has been very proactive to say the least in its endeavour to foster the usage of electric vehicles in the country. A host of measures have been adopted with regard to this aspect. They are enumerated as follows:

The Central Government in 2015 launched the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of programme with the objective of decreasing the reliance on petroleum products and also on delving into the problems of emission from vehicles.

Currently, the FAME India programme is in the second stage of its execution with an overall budget outlay of INR 10,000 crore. The five-year programme came into effect from April 1, 2019.

On May 12, 2021, the Union Government ratified a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) programme for the creation of Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) for reducing the cost of battery in India. A decrease in the battery costs will in turn, translate into lesser prices of the EVs that will be more affordable for a larger section of consumers in the country.

On September 15, 2021, Electric vehicles were included under the PLI programme for Auto and Auto Components that was ratified by the Central Government. This five-year PLI programme will be executed with a budget disbursement of INR 25,000 crore that has been kept aside exclusively for this purpose.

On July 19, 2022, Mr. Krishan Pal Gurjar, the Minister of State for Heavy Industries, said that currently, an overall of 13.34 lakh electric vehicles are being used in India, whereas 27.81 crore vehicles were still running on the conventional mode of fossil fuels.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) levied on electric vehicles has been decreased from 12% to 5%. Also, the GST on EV chargers and charging points have been lessened from 18% to 5%.

Recently, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) proclaimed that green-coloured number plates would be provided for electric vehicles, which will not be required to adhere to permit regulations. MoRTH also directed the states to remove the road tax levied on battery-run vehicles so that their preliminary prices will be less.

Challenges for EVs in India

While the Government of India is leaving no stone unturned in its earnest attempts in making the nation more EV-friendly, there remains some, in fact, several very crucial hurdles that need to be overcome before India can claim itself as a country that has completely embraced the EV industry. The roadblocks that are preventing the nation from becoming fully EV-friendly are described as below:

As many as 63% of automotive consumers in India are still not convinced that electric vehicles can be bought within their financial means. This type of notion can be widely attributed to the huge capital costs involved in buying a EV.

While there has been a surge in the presence of EVs across India, the absence of an ample charging framework is a massive obstacle that needs to be resolved at the earliest. In sheer contrast to the number of conventional fuel refilling bunks found in plenty across the length and breadth of the country, the number of EV charging points are just abysmal to say the least.

In October 2021, the country recorded an immense dearth of 1,201 million units of power supply, the biggest in 5.5 years because of a fall in the coal reserves. If India wants to fully become an EV nation, it first has to tackle the fundamental woes of power dearth.

Conclusion

Notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic that has had a huge impact on the Indian automobile market, industry pundits still remain upbeat on the prospects of India emerging as the global epicentre for EV, owing to the country’s tremendous consumer potential that can translate into the much-needed success which the Indian automobile industry is desperately craving for.

However, circumventing all of these challenges described above is no mean task by any stretch of imagination and to, in fact, accomplish them, takes a lot of will and enormous amount of efforts from the part of the Government. It has to be seen if this is just misplaced optimism or it is indeed the dawn of the rosy things that are in store for the Indian automobile industry and its consumers as far as the future of EVs in the country are concerned.

28Jul

Overview Of Indian Healthcare Industry

July 28, 2022 Feedback Advisory 25

Introduction

The healthcare industry in India is currently going great guns and is well and truly poised to carve a niche for itself on the global health arena. This has been possible through various proactive measures that the Government of India has adopted in order to face the massive challenge thrown upon by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Market size & potential of the Indian healthcare industry

In this regard, it is very prudent to note that the Indian healthcare industry is experiencing a boom that has been unprecedented. The healthcare market in India is slated to record a three-fold hike, increasing at a CAGR of 22% between 2016-2022 to touch US$ 372 billion by 2022 from US$ 110 billion in 2016. By FY22, Indian healthcare infrastructure is expected to reach US$ 349.1 billion.

In FY21, the gross direct premium income backed by health insurance companies grew 13.3% YoY to Rs. 58,572.46 crores (US$ 7.9 billion). The health segment has a 29.5% share in the total gross written premiums produced in the country.

According to the Economic Survey of 2022, India’s public output on healthcare was at 2.1% of GDP in the fiscal year 2021-22 as compared to 1.8% in the previous year of 2020-21.

And, there were a couple of vaccines that were produced in India, which gave a big boost to the healthcare sector in the country. One was Covaxin that was developed by Bharat Biotech and the other being Covishield that was created by the Serum Institute of India (SII) in collaboration with the UK-based Oxford’s Astrazeneca.

The vaccine duo was largely responsible in protecting the massive Indian population against the dreaded COVID-19 virus. As of March 21, 2022, over 181.52 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered across the country.

The increase in the number of allopathic medical practitioners possessing qualifications (under the I.M.C. Act) registered with medical councils at the regional as well as at the national level bears a strong testimony of this fact. From being 0.83 million in 2010, the number of doctors augmented to 1.27 million in 2021.

India’s biggest strength is derived from its enormous reservoir of highly proficient medical professionals. And as far as the medical expenses are concerned, India is the much-preferred destination for being very cost-effective as compared to its other counterparts in Asia and Western countries. The cost of surgery in India is about one-tenth of that in the US or Western Europe.

The Indian medical tourism market was valued at US$ 2.89 billion in 2020 and is projected to attain US$ 13.42 billion by 2026. According to the India Tourism Statistics at a Glance 2020 report, close to 697,300 overseas patients visited India for medical treatment in 2019. In the Medical Tourism Index (MTI) for 2020-21, the Medical Tourism Association has put India in the 10th position out of 46 countries.

The magnitude of the the Indian e-health or digital health market is projected to attain US$ 10.6 billion by 2025. As of January 2022, there are 595 medical colleges in the country. According to the data provided to the Lok Sabha by the Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, the ratio of doctor vis-a-vis population in India is 1:854, assuming that there is an 80% availability of 12.68 lakh registered allopathic doctors and 5.65 lakh AYUSH doctors.

Initiatives taken by the Indian government

The Government of India (GoI) has been very proactive to say the least and has adopted a lot of important measures to encourage and support the Indian healthcare industry to reach its optimum potential. They are mentioned as below:

There are 117,771 Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) that are functioning in India as of April 5, 2022. 748 e-Hospitals were started across the country in accordance with the Central Government’s ‘Digital India’ campaign during the same period.
The Government of Meghalaya under the auspices of the Government of India inked a US$ 40-million health scheme with the World Bank for the state of Meghalaya in November 2021. This venture will enhance the standard of health services and boost the state’s capacity to tackle any forthcoming health crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Health Ministry’s e-Sanjeevani telemedicine service in September 2021, surpassed 12 million teleconsultations since its inception, facilitating patient-to-doctor consultations, from the comforts of their homes, and doctor-to-doctor consultations.
India resumed its exports of Covid-19 vaccines to global vaccine-sharing podium COVAX in November-December 2021, after halting the shipments due to the deadly second COVID-19 wave that hit the country in April 2021. The World Health Organization (WHO), which jointly heads COVAX, had been urging India to recommence its deliveries for the initiative, especially after it provided ~4 million doses to its neighbours and allies in October 2021.
Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, while speaking at the global COVID-19 summit in September 2021, said that India had offered its vaccine production with 95 countries and the UN peacekeeping forces. He also reiterated that India will continue its export of COVID-19 shots to other countries after more shots are augmented.
In the same month, the Prime Minister also inaugurated the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. The mission will link the digital health solutions of hospitals across the country with one other. This scheme enables each civilian to now obtain a virtual health identity document and their health records will be preserved digitally.

About 11.9 lakh health IDs have been created and 3,106 doctors and 1,490 hospitals have registered on the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) portal as of May 2021.

The GoI consented to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Denmark on a partnership in health and medicine in July 2021. The pact will focus on shared projects and technological advancement in the health segment, with the objective of enhancing the public health standing of the populations in both the nations.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in a collaboration with UNICEF, held a capacity-building session for media personnel and health reporters in the North-eastern states in June 2021. The session delved on the current COVID-19 situation in India, the necessity to dispel misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccines and to reiterate the significance of COVID-19 Appropriate Behaviour (CAB).

During the same period, Bolo Indya, a homegrown social live streaming portal, joined hands with the Ministry of AYUSH to encourage native Indian systems of medicines and care such as Siddha, Yoga, Unani and Ayurveda and enhance a healthy lifestyle among citizens. Over 10 million citizens stand to benefit through this alliance in the forthcoming year.

Indian Defence Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh in May 2021 inaugurated the ‘Services e-Health Assistance & Tele-consultation (SeHAT)’ OPD platform to offer telemedicine services to the country’s armed forces and retired stalwarts.
The Defence Ministry on May 17, 2021 also initiated the pilot set of anti-COVID drug, 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) that was manufactured by the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a lab of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in collaboration with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL), Hyderabad.

Recent milestones in Indian healthcare

Right now, India stands in the fourth position in luring VC investments to the health-tech sector, with a funding of US$ 4.4 billion between 2016 and 2021, with US$ 1.9 billion financed in 2021 only.
The Phase 3 trials of India’s first intranasal vaccine against COVID-19 began in January 2022, and it is being produced by Bharat Biotech in association with the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, the US.
HealthifyMe, a startup with a total user base of 30 million people, is adding half a million new users every month and surpassed US$ 40 million ARR in January 2022.
Eka Care has the distinction of being the first CoWIN-endorsed organization in India, through which users could reserve their vaccination slot, download their certificate and even generate their health identity documents.
Sputnik Light, which is a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Russia, got the green signal to conduct its Phase 3 trials in India in September 2021.
India made its COVID-19 vaccination portal, CoWIN, an open source for all countries in July 2021. This CoWIN portal has attracted the attention of around 76 nations that are keen in utilizing the portal to monitor their national COVID-19 vaccination campaigns.
The Union government provided its consent for Sanofi and GSK to execute late-stage clinical experiments of their protein-based vaccines in July 2021.
AstraZeneca India in June 2021 inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Docon Technologies, a Bengaluru-based health start-up firm, to digitise 1,000 clinics across the country by executing customised electronic medical record (EMR) systems in clinics to provide doctors access to a patient’s comprehensive medical past.

Opportunities galore in Indian healthcare

The healthcare domain in India offers a plethora of prospects in very sphere that comprises of medical service providers, payers and medical technology. From being at INR 4 trillion (US$ 61.79 billion) in FY17, the medical sector in the country is projected to rise to INR 8.6 trillion (US$ 132.84 billion) by FY22 at a CAGR of 16-17%.

By 2025, the Central Government is contemplating to hike the expenses on public health by 2.5% of the nation’s GDP. Indian pharmaceutical organizations are able to procure Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) consents, which in itself is a big achievement for the country.