India has approved 6,562 public electric vehicle (EV) charging points under its PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme, although no charging stations had been installed as of July 22, 2026, according to the Ministry of Heavy Industries.
According to Business Standard, the update was provided in a written reply by the ministry to the Lok Sabha, outlining progress under the government’s flagship EV incentive programme.
Charging Network Yet to Be Deployed
Heavy Industries Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said 6,562 public charging points have been sanctioned nationwide, including 1,571 in Karnataka.
Despite the approvals, the ministry confirmed that no charging stations funded under the programme had been commissioned by late July.
The PM E-DRIVE scheme has allocated ₹2,000 crore for public charging infrastructure as part of its overall budget.
EV Adoption Continues
Despite the delayed rollout of charging infrastructure, the programme has supported the purchase of more than 2.65 million electric vehicles.
Maharashtra accounted for the largest number of supported vehicles with approximately 428,000 units, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 278,000, Karnataka with 267,000 and Tamil Nadu with 259,000.
Electric two-wheelers represented the majority of supported sales, with subsidies covering approximately 2.379 million motorcycles and scooters against a target of 2.479 million units.
The programme has also supported around 268,000 electric L5 three-wheelers and 6,547 electric rickshaws and carts.
Commercial Vehicle Uptake Lags
Adoption has been considerably slower in heavier vehicle categories.
The ministry reported that only 55 electric trucks have received support compared with the programme target of 5,643 units.
No electric ambulances have been subsidised so far despite a target of 3,811 vehicles.
Separately, the government has allocated 14,000 battery-electric buses under the PM E-DRIVE programme.
Bengaluru will receive 4,500 buses, followed by Delhi with 2,800, Hyderabad with 2,200, Mumbai with 1,500, Ahmedabad with 1,200, Pune with 1,000, Surat with 600 and Jammu and Kashmir with 200.
Programme Funding
PM E-DRIVE has a total budget of ₹10,900 crore covering the period from April 2024 to March 2028.
According to the ministry, ₹2,322 crore had been released and fully utilised by July 22, 2026.
The government has also allocated ₹780 crore to modernise four vehicle testing and certification organisations—ARAI, ICAT, NATRAX and GARC—to strengthen India’s EV testing infrastructure.
As noted by Business Standard, the ministry compared PM E-DRIVE with its predecessor, FAME-II, which had supported more than 1.67 million electric vehicles, funded 9,583 public charging stations and enabled the deployment of 5,297 electric buses as of July 1, 2026. Unlike FAME-II, the current programme does not prescribe state, district or annual deployment targets.
