Government invites proposals for development of EV charging infrastructure on major highways

The government has invited proposals for installation of charging stations from entities that intend to build and operate charging infrastructure on major highways and expressways in the country.

The Department of Heavy Industries has floated an Expression of Interest for inviting proposals from government organisations, PSUs (State/Central), state-owned DISCOM, Oil PSUs and similar other public and private entities to build and operate Public EV charging infrastructure.

Proposals have been invited from interested entities to build and operate EV charging infrastructure on the Mumbai - Pune, Ahmedabad-Vadodara, Delhi-Agra Yamuna, Bengaluru-Mysore, Bengaluru-Chennai, Surat - Mumbai, Agra - Lucknow, Eastern Peripheral and Hyderabad-ORR Expressways.

Similarly, proposals have also been invited from entities for highways including Delhi - Srinagar, Delhi Kolkata, Agra-Nagpur, Meerut to Gangotri Dham, Mumbai - Delhi, Mumbai-Panaji, Mumbai-Nagpur, Mumbai-Bengaluru and Kolkata to Bhubaneswar.

Under Phase-II of the FAME India Scheme, Government of India (GoI) intends to support the development of EV charging infrastructure by extending capital grant to organisations for promoting the use of Electric Vehicles (EVs).

The Centre has approved Phase-II of FAME India Scheme [Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India], for 3 years commencing from 1st April 2019.

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Its main focus is the electrification of public and shared transportation.

In another development, the central government on September 25, 2020, sanctioned 670 electric buses for Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, and Chandigarh and 241 charging stations in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, and Port Blair under Phase-II of the FAME India Scheme.

Union Heavy Industries Minister Prakash Javadekar said the decision reflects the Centre's commitment to reduce dependence on fossil fuel and address the issues of vehicular emissions, and is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for eco-friendly public transportation.

In a series of tweets, the minister informed that 25 charging stations have been sanctioned in Kollam, 27 in Thiruvananthapuram, and 28 in Malappuram (all in Kerala). Besides, 10 charging stations have been sanctioned in Port Blair and 25 in Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu.

(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)