Policy Challenges in India

Policy in India often oscillates before stabilizing, highlighted by the recent confusion regarding end-of-life (EoL) vehicles. Initially, a fuel ban was announced for petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles over 10 years, as directed by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). However, enforcement and technological challenges forced the Delhi government to reconsider and instead focus on visibly unfit vehicles.

Flaws in Age-Based Vehicle Ban

• The policy's reliance on vehicle age is flawed as emissions are more related to maintenance, driving patterns, and after-treatment systems.
• A well-maintained older car can emit less pollution than a newer vehicle with faulty systems.
• Scrapping vehicles that pass fitness tests results in wasted embedded carbon, undermining sustainability.
• Age-based bans penalize private owners who drive less and maintain their vehicles, while ignoring high-mileage commercial fleets.
• Premature scrappage without adequate compensation adversely affects middle-class owners and small businesses.

Implications of Electric Vehicles (EVs)

• In coal-dependent grids like India's, large EVs can result in emissions comparable to or worse than efficient diesel vehicles.

Recommendations for Policy Framework

• Policy decisions should be metrics-based, with clear dashboards indicating targeted problems, evidence, alternative options, and success indicators.
• A normative filter should evaluate whether the state is displacing individual judgement.
• States should adopt anti-paternalism assessments, ensuring measures are proportionate, preserve autonomy, and respect rational choices.
• Nudges and incentives are preferred over coercive defaults.

The policy surrounding EoL vehicles exemplifies a 'high-modernist' impulse, simplifying complex realities into manageable categories. The state often prioritizes visible and symbolic actions over addressing deeper structural issues, similar to policies in Sydney, NYC, and Singapore.