India has announced a funding package of 20 billion rupees (approximately 206 million euros) to accelerate the rollout of public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, as part of its broader clean mobility agenda under the PM E-Drive scheme.
The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) said it plans to deploy approximately 72,000 public charging stations nationwide, focusing on high-traffic corridors and urban hubs. The new infrastructure will span 50 national highway corridors and key locations such as petrol stations, railway stations, airports, toll plazas, and state highways.
The move is aimed at supporting the growth of electric cars, buses, and commercial vehicles by enabling longer-distance travel and improving user convenience. The government is considering assigning Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), a state-owned engineering firm, to aggregate demand for the stations and potentially develop a unified mobile application for customers.
The proposed app would allow users to locate chargers, book slots, make payments, and monitor charging progress in real time. “The clean energy transition cannot succeed in silos,” said H.D. Kumaraswamy, Minister for Heavy Industries. “Ministries, public sector enterprises, and states are all aligned to deliver results on ground.”
MHI is coordinating with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to implement the plan. The 20 billion rupees is part of a broader incentive package worth 109 billion rupees (around 1.12 billion euros) allocated for the PM E-Drive scheme, which runs from October 2024 through March 2026.
The scheme also includes incentives for nearly 2.9 million electric vehicles across categories, including two- and three-wheelers, ambulances, and freight trucks. Funding will also support the upgradation of vehicle testing agencies, reinforcing the government’s push to create a comprehensive and reliable EV ecosystem in India.