To boost clean mobility in the road transport sector, the Department of Heavy Industries (DHI) has sanctioned 2,636 charging stations in 62 cities across 24 states and union territories in the country.
According to a press release, the project is being carried out under the second phase of the FAME India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) Scheme.
The sanction letters to the selected entities will be issued in phases after ensuring the availability of land for the stations and signing necessary agreements with concerned partner organisations (city municipal corporations and oil companies). Subsequently, each selected public entity is required to initiate the procurement process in a time-bound manner for the deployment of the charging stations.
The Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises said that in the future, at least one charging station will be available in most of the selected cities in a grid of 4km x 4 km. He said it will “boost the confidence of users of electric vehicles” and also encourage OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to launch new electric vehicle models due to the lack of charging infrastructure.
DHI had invited the expression of interest (EoI) from cities, smart cities, state capitals, and cities from special category states for the submission of a proposal for availing incentives under the FAME Scheme.
About 106 proposals from public and private entities for the deployment of about 7,000 EV charging stations were received. After the evaluation of these proposals, as per the EoI and based on suggestions from the Project Implementation and Sanctioning Committee (PISC), the charging stations were sanctioned.
Out of the 2,636 charging stations, 1,633 charging stations will be fast-charging stations and 1,003 will be slow-charging stations.
As many as 317 electric vehicle charging stations have been allotted in Maharashtra; 266 in Andhra Pradesh; 256 in Tamil Nadu; 228 in Gujarat; 205 in Rajasthan; 207 in Uttar Pradesh; 172 in Karnataka; 159 in Madhya Pradesh; 141 in West Bengal; 138 in Telangana; 131 in Kerala; 72 in Delhi; 70 in Chandigarh; 50 in Haryana; 40 in Meghalaya; 37 in Bihar; 29 in Sikkim; 25 each in Jammu & Kashmir and Chhattisgarh; 20 in Assam; 18 in Odisha; 10 in Uttarakhand, Puducherry, and Himachal Pradesh.
The government has been pushing for an EV-friendly ecosystem in India. As OpenGov reported earlier, the following initiatives have been launched to promote the use of electric vehicles:
- Under the new GST regime, GST on EVS is reduced from the existing 12% rate to 5% as against the 28% GST rate with cess up to 22% for conventional vehicles.
- The Ministry of Power has allowed the sale of electricity as a ‘service’ for the charging of electric vehicles. This will attract investments into the charging infrastructure.
- The government has granted an exemption to battery-operated transport vehicles and transport vehicles that run on ethanol and methanol fuels from the requirements of the permit.
- The government has proposed the exemption of registration fees for battery-operated/electric vehicles to promote the use of eco-friendly vehicles in the country.
- The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has allowed the age group of 16-18 years to obtain driving licences to drive e-scooters.
