Ador Digatron CEO Ravin Mirchandani is challenging conventional wisdom on how to clean up India's air, asserting that focusing solely on personal car electrification is a "fallacy". Instead, he argues that a more effective strategy involves prioritizing the electrification of two and three-wheeled vehicles, as well as trucks and buses, which constitute a significantly larger portion of the vehicle population in India.

Mirchandani's perspective stems from the understanding that a substantial 82% of the 360 million registered vehicles in India are two and three-wheelers, while trucks and buses account for 12%. Cars, on the other hand, represent only a small fraction, between 6% and 8%. Therefore, targeting the larger segments will yield a more significant impact on air quality.

"The way to clean up India's air and the way to delever from the hydrocarbon molecule is to focus on the two and the three-wheelers, and then the trucks and the buses," Mirchandani stated. He notes that a considerable portion of three-wheelers being sold in India are already electric, marking a significant shift in the transportation landscape. The transition to electric two-wheelers is also gaining momentum, evident in the increasing number of green license plates seen on the roads.

Mirchandani highlights the importance of electrifying buses, with the Indian government planning to convert 15,000 buses from internal combustion engines to electric. This initiative is considerably larger in scale compared to other countries like Australia, which is converting 150 buses. Following buses, the focus will shift to trucks, starting with those used for intra-city transportation and then expanding to inter-city routes.

India has already made strides in combating air pollution through various initiatives. The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), launched in 2019, aims to improve air quality in over 130 cities by reducing particulate matter concentrations by 20-30% by 2024. The government is also encouraging cities to develop air quality management plans and promoting collaboration between local and national jurisdictions.

Other measures being implemented include dust mitigation at construction sites, effective waste management, and regular road cleaning. Innovative solutions such as using bio-decomposers to combat stubble burning, a major contributor to winter pollution, are also being explored.

However, despite these efforts, air pollution remains a significant concern in India. Recently, Bryan Johnson, a tech millionaire and anti-aging advocate, cut short a podcast recording in Mumbai due to poor air quality, which he equated to smoking 3.4 cigarettes. Johnson expressed concern over the normalization of air pollution in India and urged the country's leaders to treat it as a national emergency.

Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath has also raised concerns about the high levels of air pollution in India's most expensive cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. He noted that while these cities have high property prices, their air quality is poor.

To effectively combat air pollution, experts recommend a multi-pronged approach that includes stricter enforcement of environmental regulations, investment in clean technologies, promotion of sustainable urban planning, and public participation. Transitioning to cleaner energy sources, improving public transportation infrastructure, and enhancing green spaces are also crucial steps.

Ador Digatron, where Ravin Mirchandani serves as CEO, is a joint venture between Ador Powertron (India) and Digatron Power Electronics (Germany). The company focuses on providing technology and solutions for the battery, energy storage, and e-mobility industries. Ador Digatron manufactures test and formation systems for batteries and offers customized battery charging solutions, including DC fast chargers for electric vehicles.