The government of India has issued new operational guidelines for its PM E-DRIVE scheme, which targets the deployment of more than 72,000 public electric vehicle (EV) chargers and battery-swap stations across the country. Authorities have allocated roughly €220 million (2,000 crore rupees) in subsidies to support the installations.
The subsidies will vary depending on the type of site and may cover both the EV supply equipment (EVSE) and upstream infrastructure, such as cabling, fencing, or transformers. The program is designed to support 22,100 fast chargers for four-wheeled EVs, 1,800 bus chargers, and 48,400 chargers for two- and three-wheelers, which are among the most widely used vehicles in India.
Public chargers installed at government buildings will be fully subsidized, covering both EVSE and upstream costs. Chargers at publicly owned transport hubs—airports, train stations, bus depots, metro stations, or highway stops—will receive 80% of the cost for upstream infrastructure and 70% for EVSE. Installations at other sites, including city streets, shopping centers, or market complexes, will receive an 80% subsidy for upstream infrastructure only. Battery swapping stations will also be eligible for an 80% infrastructure subsidy regardless of location.
Benchmark costs for subsidy calculations vary by charger capacity. Autocar Pro reported that “for upstream infrastructure, these costs vary by charger capacity, ranging from Rs 6.04 lakh for chargers up to 50 kW to Rs 24 lakh for those above 150 kW.” For EVSE, costs are set according to type or capacity: “The cost for a 50 kW CCS2 charger is Rs 7.25 lakh, while a 100 kW CCS2 charger is set at Rs 11.68 lakh.”
If implemented as planned, India would join the ranks of the world’s largest EV charging markets, alongside China, and surpass most European countries. The inclusion of battery swapping stations in the scheme further positions India as an early adopter of emerging EV technologies.
Source: livemint.com, autocarpro.in
