Govt Invites Proposals From Public, Private Entities For Setting Up EV Charging Stations

The Department of Heavy Industry has floated an Expression of Interest (EoI), inviting proposals from government organisations, Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), state-owned distribution companies and other public and private entities to build and operate charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs). 

The proposals are for building charging infrastructure along some of the country’s major expressways connecting metro cities, such as the Mumbai – Pune, Ahmedabad – Vadodara, Delhi – Agra, Bengaluru – Mysore, Bengaluru – Chennai, Surat – Mumbai and Agra – Lucknow expressways, among others. Proposals have also been invited for building EV charging stations along highways, such as Delhi – Srinagar, Delhi – Kolkata, Agra – Nagpur, Meerut – Gangotri Dham, Mumbai – Delhi and Mumbai – Panaji, among others. The news was first reported by PTI. 

Under Phase-II of the FAME India Scheme, the 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. The Centre has approved Phase-II of FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India) scheme for three years commencing from April 1, 2019.

Earlier this week, the Delhi government, led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, exempted road tax for battery-operated vehicles under its new EV policy. It is expected that the government will further waive the registration fees for EVs as well, as the measure was outlined in its EV policy announced in August. 

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government, in August, announced the Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy 2020 for curbing the air pollution menace in the national capital by fast-tracking the adoption of battery-operated vehicles. The government had said that it would waive registration fee, road tax and provide an incentive of up to INR 1.5 lakhs for electric cars and INR 30,000 for electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers and freight vehicles.

Further, Kejriwal had said that the government would also give low-interest loans on electric commercial vehicles, along with several other measures in the policy expected to give a boost to EV sales in the national capital. 

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