India’s Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) has announced plans to establish 5,833 charging stations along the nation’s highways as part of a broader initiative to create 7,432 public fast-charging outlets by 2023. The deployment will be managed by three Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs): Indian Oil (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL).
Maharashtra, which includes Mumbai, will see the largest number of these new chargers, with a total of 649 locations. Tamil Nadu follows closely with 649 locations, while Uttar Pradesh, adjacent to the national capital Delhi, will have 525 public fast-charging stations.
The MHI is not directly involved in the installation process. Instead, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has entrusted the OMCs with this task. The Ministry had previously allocated ₹8 billion (approximately €88 million) for the establishment of the 7,432 outlets under the FAME India Scheme Phase II. However, the project appears to be running behind its original March 2023 completion deadline.
As of now, India has 5,293 charging stations along National Highways, with Maharashtra leading at 750 locations. Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan follow with 577 and 482 stations, respectively.
The expansion of the highway network and improvements in EV charging infrastructure are expected to boost the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) across the country. In addition to the government’s efforts, private companies like ChargeZone are also advancing the charging network, aiming to install 1,000 high-power chargers along key western and southern routes including Mumbai-Ahmedabad and Bengaluru-Chennai.
The development of these charging stations is anticipated to support the growing popularity of self-drive travel and encourage both public and private transport operators to deploy more electric buses and expand their service coverage.
