Interim Budget: Govt To Strengthen EV Ecosystem By Supporting Setting Up Charging Infra

Delivering the interim Budget 2024-25 speech in the Parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the government will place an increased focus on promoting electric vehicle (EV) adoption in India.

The government will expand and strengthen the EV ecosystem by supporting manufacturing and setting up charging infrastructure in the country, the FM said.

Further, the government will promote adoption of electric buses for public transportation by introducing a payment security mechanism.

Earlier in August 2023, the Union Cabinet approved a new scheme under which 10,000 electric buses (ebuses) would be deployed in 169 cities on a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Also, in December 2023, India partnered the US government and American philanthropic groups, as part of a $390 Mn joint financing mechanism, to deploy more than 50,000 electric buses on the country’s roads by 2027.

The initiative will cover cities with a population of more than 3 Lakh people, encompassing all capital cities, the North-Eastern region and hill states. The scheme will prioritise cities with no organised bus service.

The government is also looking to build 6,000 KM of electric vehicle-ready highways on the Golden Quadrilateral in a bid to reduce fuel consumption and vehicular emissions via electrification of intercity public transport. This is planned over the next seven years to boost the adoption of e-mobility and deployment of e-buses,