New Delhi, April 13 -- Policy think tank Niti Aayog has indefinitely postponed a global summit aimed at reinvigorating the nation's electric vehicle sector, as the war in West Asia disrupts international travel.

The Global Electric Mobility Summit, planned for 21-22 April in New Delhi, was designed to be an event to court major investments for the world's third-largest auto market. However, government correspondence reviewed by Mint shows that the regional war has forced a strategic retreat until travel conditions normalize.

The delay comes at a critical time for New Delhi. The energy shocks radiating from the West Asia crisis have intensified India's urgency to decouple its transport sector from crude oil imports, yet the nation's prim...