India’s subsidy allocation for electric buses under the PM E-DRIVE scheme is being utilized swiftly, with the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) approving 9,800 electric buses—70% of the total quota—just over four months after the program’s launch.
According to a report from Mint, Bengaluru and Hyderabad have secured subsidies for 7,000 and 2,800 electric buses, respectively. The scheme, capped at 14,028 buses, now has 4,228 subsidy slots remaining.
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MHI has allocated 109 billion Indian rupees (approximately 1.2 billion euros) for the initiative from October 1, 2024, to March 31, 2026. Of this, 43.91 billion Indian rupees (approximately 482 million euros) is earmarked for electric buses. The ministry plans to disburse 18.24 billion Indian rupees by March 2025, with the remaining 25.67 billion Indian rupees allocated for the following financial year.
The subsidy applies exclusively to state and city transport undertakings on an operational expenditure (OPEX) or gross cost contract (GCC) model. Initially, the program targets nine major cities—Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Surat, and Pune—though some cities have yet to submit demand certificates. “Bengaluru and Hyderabad moved early in the process, while others are still completing formalities,” the report noted.
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Under the scheme, electric buses must have an ex-factory price below 20 million Indian rupees (approximately 220,000 euros) to qualify. The subsidy is determined based on battery capacity, price discovery through bidding, or bus length, with a maximum incentive of 3.5 million Indian rupees for models between 10 and 12 meters in length. The subsidy is disbursed in four phases, with 20% released after the supply order is issued and the remaining amount provided in stages based on operational milestones.
Source: livemint.com, heavyindustries.gov.in
