April 1st, 2025
The Indian government has unveiled an ambitious plan to dramatically expand the country’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure, allocating ₹2,000 crore from the PM E-Drive scheme to establish charging points and battery-swapping stations across critical transport hubs.
Charging Across Transport Networks
This multi-agency initiative aims to more than double India’s public charging stations from 32,500 to 72,300 by FY26. The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) is spearheading the effort, working closely with the Airports Authority of India (AAI), National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
“We have received input from 14 states and conducted an inter-ministerial meeting. Once we get additional feedback from relevant departments, we will finalize the guidelines by April,” a senior official confirmed.
Highways Get Electrified
To support long-distance EV travel, the government has identified 20 national highways with high traffic volumes for charging infrastructure development. The Mumbai-Pune and Bengaluru-Chennai corridors are among the high-priority routes being considered.
While NHAI will manage the tendering process and determine exact locations based on traffic data, MHI will provide substantial financial backing, covering up to 80 percent of project costs.
Several transport corridors already feature EV charging facilities, including Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, Kochi Airport, and highways such as NH-48 (Delhi-Jaipur-Agra) and NH-179B (Chennai-Trichy).
Battery Swapping Gets a Boost
The initiative places special emphasis on battery swapping technology, which allows EV users to quickly exchange depleted batteries for fully charged ones instead of waiting for recharging.
“We will approve proposals submitted by airports, ports, and NHAI, provided they comply with the power ministry’s safety and technical guidelines,” the official explained.
While there are no restrictions on battery quantities or sizes, all installations must adhere to the safety standards outlined by the power ministry. Operators will need to meet service-level agreements covering uptime, power quality, and other performance metrics.
Subsidies to Drive Implementation
The PM E-Drive scheme offers subsidies of up to 80 percent for fast public EV charging stations, with potential full funding in select cases, particularly in northeastern, coastal, and hilly regions where EV infrastructure is currently limited.
This comprehensive approach to charging infrastructure development represents a significant step toward India’s clean mobility goals, addressing one of the primary barriers to EV adoption – range anxiety and charging accessibility.
