The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) held a national conference on “Enabling Nationwide EV Charging Infrastructure under PM E-DRIVE Scheme” in Bengaluru on May 12, bringing together representatives from state governments, public sector companies, charge point operators, and vehicle manufacturers.
During the conference, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy said the government is focusing on expanding EV charging infrastructure to support electric vehicle adoption across the country.
Rs 503.86 Crore Approved for 4,874 EV Chargers
The Ministry announced that proposals involving 4,874 EV chargers with a total outlay of Rs 503.86 crore have been approved so far under the PM E-DRIVE Scheme.
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The approved projects include proposals from public sector oil companies such as HPCL, IOCL, and BPCL, along with states including Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. Karnataka alone received approval for 1,243 EV chargers with an allocated outlay of Rs 123.26 crore.
Charging Support Planned Across Vehicle Segments
According to the Ministry, the charging infrastructure support under the scheme will cover electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger vehicles, buses, and trucks.
Officials said coordination between central ministries, state governments, charging operators, and industry stakeholders will be necessary to improve deployment and interoperability of charging systems.
PM E-DRIVE Scheme Outlay and Targets
The PM E-DRIVE Scheme has a total allocation of Rs 10,900 crore for EV adoption and related infrastructure development.
The scheme includes support for:
- Around 24.79 lakh electric two-wheelers
- Approximately 3.16 lakh electric three-wheelers
- Deployment of more than 14,028 electric buses
The government has earmarked Rs 2,000 crore specifically for public EV charging infrastructure, while Rs 3,679 crore has been allocated towards demand incentives for various EV categories. An additional Rs 780 crore has been allocated for upgrading vehicle testing agencies under the Ministry of Heavy Industries.
States Share EV Infrastructure Plans
Senior officials from Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka, and Odisha participated in the conference and discussed state-level approaches for EV charging deployment and accessibility.
Discussions during the event focused on faster charger deployment, standardisation, and public-private collaboration for scaling charging infrastructure across India.