India is changing gears. 

In April 2017, the Indian government announced that the country would stop selling petrol and diesel cars by 2030. For a country that runs on gas guzzlers, it’s an ambitious target for the world’s fifth-largest auto market.

This is part of the Narendra Modi-led government's policy to have a renewable energy revolution in the country. Just to give a sense, India is really starting from the bottom as far as electric cars are concerned. 

In 2016-2017, India sold 3 million passenger cars, out of which only 22,000 were electric. So clearly, it's an opportunity.

But years ago, it was Anand Mahindra, chairman of the Mahindra Group, who spotted the opportunity. His company entered the market when it wasn't fashionable. But years later, numbers remain low. 

“Volumes are low at this point for a variety of reasons and other reasons like battery costs, price being high but the government has recently announced that they have a target, an aspirational target that by the year 2030 all cars will be electric cars," Mahindra said. 

"Now it’s not important that that target is met but clearly, that has changed the aspirations of carmakers in India and everybody is going to make plans to make facilities to manufacture electric vehicles.” 

Even as battery costs remain a hindrance to electric cars, rapid innovation is leading to a price reduction. 

“I foresee that at some point in time with plummeting battery cost, increasing range, lower charging time…electric vehicles will be on parity with a conventional engine as in their price will be on parity and their range will be on parity," Mahindra said. "At that point in time, one doesn't really need a government to step in. Consumers will buy and the market itself would provide the charging stations that are required.”

India is all set to become the world’s 3rd largest car market by 2020 and the demand is only expected to rise in a country of 1.2 billion people. Many car companies, including Tesla, are now planning to enter the Indian car market to fill up a space that massive electric car demand will create. But Make in India seems to be the way forward.