Government Invites Proposals To Set Up 1,000 EV Charging Stations

The Indian government is taking multiple steps towards the adoption of electric vehicles. Recently, the government has invited proposals from business entities for the deployment of 1,000 EV charging stations in big and smart cities.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries said that proposals have been invited from entities that intend to develop EV charging infrastructure in cities with a million-plus population figure as per the 2011 census. The Indian government has invited proposals for the satellite towns that are connected to seven metro cities namely Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, and Chennai. Also, the major cities of special category State/UTs are included in this along with the capital cities of all States/UTs that are not covered in the above-mentioned categories.

The Heavy Industries Ministry said – “Initially, 1,000 EV charging stations are earmarked for deployment through this EOI. These charging stations will be sanctioned to different states/cities/entities after evaluation of the proposals received under this EOI.”

It is also possible that as per MNRE guidelines the charging stations should be connected with ‘grid-connected solar power plant’ of required capacity so as to ensure grid stability and green energy for electric vehicles. The last date for the submission of the proposal is August 20, 2019.

The Fame-II scheme was recently approved by the government for three years commencing from April 1, 2019, with total budgetary support of INR 10,000 crore. Under Phase-II of the scheme, the government plans to support the development of electric vehicle charging infrastructure by extending the capital grant to different organisations that are working with city government for the promotion of the use of electric vehicles. Also, a few days back the NITI Aayog asked OEMs to come with an EV roadmap as soon as possible.