PM E-DRIVE Push: Centre Mulls New Chart To Subsidise Charging Units For Two & Three Wheelers

Days after announcing the INR 10,900 Cr PM E-DRIVE scheme to boost EV adoption, the Centre is reportedly mulling to provide subsidies for setting up two and three-wheeler charging stations.

Under this initiative, the government is looking to deploy 72,300 public charging stations via allocation of INR 2,000 Cr. Out of this, 48,400 charging stations will be devoted to two and three-wheelers and 18,000 for EV buses, ET reported, citing sources close to the matter.

The Centre claims that up to 80% of back-end infrastructure development cost will be subsidised under the PM E-DRIVE scheme. Besides the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Indian Railways and state governments will also be involved in the scheme.

It is pertinent to note that currently, there are around 12,000 EV charging stations in the country, which are predominantly catering to cars.

The PM E-DRIVE scheme, which will effectively replace the FAME scheme, will have an outlay of INR 10,900 Cr for a period of two years, which is higher than the INR 10,000 Cr initial outlay of the FAME- II scheme.  

The scheme was implemented from October 1 till March 31, 2026. 

With respect to this, the government will provide subsidies and demand incentives worth INR 3,679 Cr for electric two-wheelers (E2Ws), three-wheelers (E3Ws), ambulances, trucks and other emerging EVs. With this, the government aims to support 24.79 Lakh E2Ws, 3.16 Lakh E3Ws, and 14,028 ebuses.

Under the scheme, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) will launch e-vouchers for EV buyers to avail demand incentives. 

On the manufacturing end, the Centre is likely to have a phased manufacturing programme (PMP) to support local manufacturing of EV components.

As per a public notification,  the PM E-DRIVE initiative will include the number of vehicles and the expenditure made under the erstwhile electric mobility promotion scheme (EMPS) 2024.

Furthermore, the notification stated that INR 1,772 Cr, including EMPS 2024 outlay, will be utilised to subsidise electric two-wheelers between FY25 and FY26. It also noted financial incentives for electric two-wheelers will be capped at INR 10,000 per vehicle in FY25 and would then be halved to INR 5,000 per vehicle from 2025-26.

Another INR 902 Cr under the scheme will go towards offering sops for electric three-wheelers (including e-rickshaws, e-carts and L5 vehicles). Besides, INR 500 Cr each has been earmarked for electric ambulances as well as etrucks and other emerging categories.