Outlook Planet C3: EVs Are Now National Security Imperative, Not Just Climate Choice, Says JBM’s Nishant Arya

Elective vehicles (EVs) are no longer an environmental choice alone but they are, increasingly a national security imperative, said Nishant Arya, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of JBM Group.

Speaking at the Outlook Planet C3 – Climate Circularity Community - Summit & Awards today, Arya stressed that the transition to electric mobility in India has moved well past the adoption debate. The more urgent question now, according to one of the country's leading electric bus manufacturers, is whether India can capture the full value of that transition or watch it leak abroad.

"The more self-sufficient a country is, the better it can insulate itself from global shocks," Arya told, citing disruptions across West Asia as a live demonstration of how exposed energy import dependency leaves an economy.

India's renewable energy capacity now approaching 270 gigawatts out of a total installed base of 521 gigawatts, the infrastructure for a genuine shift is in place. Arya noted that electric mobility is the natural next layer, converting that green generation capacity into transport decarbonisation at scale.

Arya also informed that his organisation's products serve roughly 200 million passengers annually across India, with each electric bus, displacing approximately 400,000 to 450,000 litres of diesel and eliminating upwards of 1,200 tonnes of CO2 over its operational life.

He further raiseds concerned about value chains. "If India manufactures EVs but continues importing lithium batteries, the value addition moves outside the country," he said. He reiterated that the opportunity lies in whether India builds out the full ecosystem, including power electronics, semiconductors, and battery manufacturing.

India's share in global value chains, he acknowledged, remains in single digits but that is precisely where the opportunity lies.

With AI-enabled remote diagnostics now capable of addressing 90-95% of operational issues, the maintenance calculus for fleet operators is also shifting decisively in EVs' favour, he said.