The Ministry of Heavy Industries has identified priority highways for electric trucks and buses for intercity trips. Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations would be installed on the Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Jaipur, Pune-Aurangabad, Chennai-Bengaluru, and Indore-Bhopal routes, among others. More highways may be added to the list, with discussions still ongoing.
This move follows the PM E-Drive scheme’s announcement that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), and the Ministry of Heavy Industries, in collaboration with other stakeholders, will determine the best routes for installing charging infrastructure.
Of the total outlay worth Rs 109 billion, the PM E-Drive initiative has set aside Rs 20 billion for the installation of public charging stations. The government had agreed to spend Rs 5 billion on e-truck subsidies from 2024-25 to 2025-26 under the PM E-Drive programme. It was anticipated that Rs 1.5 billion of this would have been spent in 2024-25. However, the sector has not received any such disbursement.
Approximately one-third of the country’s transportation-related carbon emissions are caused by the trucking industry. Such emissions are anticipated to be decreased by electrifying freight transportation and by replacing diesel trucks with electric trucks. Hence, providing sufficient charging infrastructure for these vehicles is now a top priority.
The Ministry of Heavy Industries has identified nine metropolises where operators will be able to purchase electric buses at a subsidised price under the PM E-Drive programme. These cities include Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and New Delhi.
As of February 2025, of the approximately 4,500 EV chargers installed using government subsidies under the FAME-II scheme, only 251 are operational.