Under the PM E-Drive scheme, government is set to install 72,000 public EV charging stations nationwide by the end of FY26, with a budget of ₹2,000 crore. These charging stations will be strategically located along 50 national highway corridors and in high-traffic areas like metro cities, toll plazas, railway stations, airports, fuel outlets, and state highways. This initiative aims to boost green mobility by reducing range anxiety and supporting the adoption of electric vehicles.
For this project, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) is being considered as the nodal agency. In order to optimize the EV charging infrastructure, BHEL will be in charge of measuring and compiling the demand for EV chargers and creating a single digital application. In order to track nationwide implementation, the app will include real-time slot booking, payment integration, charger availability status, and progress dashboards.
As of April 1, 2025, India had 26,367 public EV charging stations, according to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). In the first three months of 2025, 1,165 new EV public charging stations were deployed. The government is also planning to revise the costs of setting up these stations under the PM E-Drive scheme, considering the fluctuations in raw material and component costs.
The government aims to establish EV charging stations on national highways to encourage inter-city electric public transportation and the introduction of electric trucks for logistics. Approximately 40% of the total ₹10,900 crore outlay under the PM E-Drive scheme is allocated to incentivize electric buses, with an additional ₹500 crore for electric trucks.
Union Minister for Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy recently chaired a meeting to review and accelerate the implementation of the EV charging infrastructure, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between various ministries. The initiative aims to reduce India’s reliance on fossil fuels, decrease transport emissions, promote domestic EV manufacturing, and create a national EV-ready infrastructure framework. The central government will deploy around 72,000 electric vehicle (EV) public charging stations across the country with a financial outlay of ₹2,000 crore under the PM E-Drive scheme, officials said.
The PM E-Drive scheme operates by subsidizing the sale of electric vehicles, with the government reimbursing manufacturers for the subsidized prices. This model is similar to previous schemes like the FAME initiatives, which ran from FY15 to FY24.
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