Govt proposes charging station for EVs at every 3km with subsidy

After taking a U-turn on electric vehicle policy, the government seems to be in a mood to encourage the electric vehicles adoption on a larger scale with proper infrastructure and subsidies.

To ease down the pressure of non-renewable fuel-based engines, the Indian government has tabled a proposal to set up charging stations for EVs every three kilometres in cities with million-plus population and smart cities. The facility will be available at every 50 km on national highways.

To cover such large area, an estimate says that there will be 30,000 slow-charging and 15,000 fast-charging stations required which may take 3-5 years in completion. It is also estimated that there should be at least two high-charge points and one fast-charging point at every three kilometers in cities.

The latest development comes in concurrent with government's introduction of incentives of up to Rs 2.5 lakh for buyers of such vehicles. The incentive is a part of an Rs 9,400-crore package for electric and hybrid engines.

Besides, Ministry of Power had also said that no separate licence will be required for set up charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. The conclusion from the ministry came after detailed examination in consultation with various stakeholders, including Central Electricity Authority.

As far as setting up the infrastructure, it is likely to be identified in consultation with local authorities and electricity distribution utilities. The land will be given on long-term lease to companies who show interest in setting up such facilities.

It is expected that public sector undertakings in the energy sector such as NTPC, Power Grid Corp, and Indian Oil Corp will lead the process of setting up the charging station at selected points.

Apart from the aforementioned entities, Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra, cab-hailing majors Ola and Uber and startups in the space will indeed become a part of government's mega project.

The provision of subsidies in electric vehicle infrastructure is also under government's consideration.

The development was reported by ET.