India has launched a new tender to deploy 6,230 electric buses across five major cities, as the government steps up efforts to decarbonise urban public transport, according to Convergence Energy Services Limited.
Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), a green energy-focused arm of the Indian government, said bids will be accepted until March 10. The buses will be procured, operated and maintained by private operators under a Gross Cost Contracting (GCC) model, which also includes the development of associated electrical and civil infrastructure.
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Under the tender, CESL plans to allocate 3,330 electric buses to Delhi, including 500 seven-metre low-floor air-conditioned units, 2,330 nine-metre low-floor air-conditioned units, and 500 additional low-floor air-conditioned buses.
The remaining 2,900 buses form the second phase of the PM E-Drive Scheme, under which the Ministry of Heavy Industries plans to deploy 14,028 electric buses across nine cities. In the first phase, CESL allocated 10,900 electric buses to five cities last year.
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In the current phase, CESL plans to allocate 200 buses each to Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, 1,500 units to Mumbai, and 1,000 units to Pune. The specifications vary by city, with Ahmedabad and Hyderabad seeking nine-metre bus rapid transit (BRT) air-conditioned buses, Mumbai opting for nine-metre low-floor air-conditioned units, and Pune planning a mix of nine-metre and 12-metre non-air-conditioned BRT buses.
According to a recent report by Mint, electric buses in India typically cost between 8.5 million and 18 million rupees per unit. Based on an assumed average price of around 10 million rupees, the full tender could be valued at more than 60 billion rupees ($571 million). For buses supplied under the second phase of the PM E-Drive Scheme, the ministry has capped the ex-factory price at below 20 million rupees per vehicle.
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Electric bus adoption in India has accelerated in recent years, with annual sales rising from 1,988 units in 2022 to 4,408 units in 2025. Government programmes such as FAME, PM e-Bus Sewa and the PM E-Drive Scheme have played a central role in pushing electric buses into mainstream urban transport systems.