• Around 11,000 electric buses will be provided to 5 big cities, including Delhi and Bengaluru under the current phase of the PM e-Drive Scheme, said Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.

• The Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel chaired a meeting on the rollout of electric buses under the scheme.

• Approximately 4,500 electric buses will be provided to Bengaluru, 2,000 to Hyderabad, 2,800 to Delhi, 1,000 to Ahmedabad, and 600 to Surat under the current phase of the PM e-Drive Scheme.

• The initiative aims to deploy 14,028 electric buses over a two-year period from April 2024 to March 2026.

Accelerate the implementation of charging infrastructure

• Earlier the minister chaired an inter-ministerial coordination meeting with senior officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and Ministry of Heavy Industries to review and accelerate the implementation of EV charging infrastructure under the PM e-Drive scheme.

• With a financial outlay of Rs 2,000 crore, the scheme will support the installation of approximately 72,000 EV public charging stations across the country.

• These stations will be strategically deployed along 50 National Highway corridors, within high-traffic destinations such as metro cities, toll plazas, railway stations, airports, fuel outlets, and state highways.

PM e-Drive Scheme

• The government notified ‘PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM e-DRIVE) Scheme’ on September 29, 2024 to provide impetus to green mobility in the country. 

• The scheme has an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore over a period of two years from April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2026.

• It aims for faster adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), setting up of charging infrastructure and development of EV manufacturing eco-system in the country.

• With greater emphasis on providing affordable and environment friendly public transportation options for the masses, the scheme will be applicable mainly to vehicles used for public transport or those registered for commercial purposes in e-3W, e-trucks and other new emerging EV categories.

• The Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS) 2024 implemented for the period of six months from April 1, 2024 to September 30, 2024 is subsumed in PM e-DRIVE Scheme.

Components of the scheme:

i) Subsidies: Rs 3,679 crore as demand incentives for e-2W, e-3W, e-ambulances, e-trucks & other new emerging EV categories.

ii) Grants for creation of capital assets: Rs 7,171 crore as grants for e-buses, establishment of network of charging stations and upgradation of testing agencies identified under this scheme.

iii) Administration of Scheme including IEC (Information, Education & Communication) activities and fee for Project Management Agency (PMA).

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)