Looking at India’s EV future, the Union Minister for Heavy Industries holds a meeting discussing strategic deployment of charging system and one unified app developed by BHEL.
The Government of India is accelerating the rollout of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the country under the PM E-Drive scheme, with a recent push led by the Union Minister for Heavy Industries, H.D. Kumaraswamy.
In a high-level inter-ministerial meeting held on Wednesday, senior officials from the Ministries of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Road Transport and Highways, and Heavy Industries reviewed progress and discussed strategies to fast-track implementation.
The PM E-Drive initiative, launched last year, aims to establish a comprehensive EV charging network to support clean and sustainable transport. With a budget of ₹20 billion, the scheme targets installing around 72,000 public charging stations nationwide.
These stations will be positioned at key locations, including metro cities, toll plazas, airports, railway stations, state highways, and fuel stations. Fifty national highway corridors have been selected for deployment to ensure wide coverage and ease of access.
The government has also proposed Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) as the lead agency for managing demand aggregation and digital integration. BHEL is set to develop a centralised super app to offer real-time features such as slot booking, payment, charger availability, and live project progress tracking.
“The PM E-Drive is not just about infrastructure; it is a vision for energy independence and economic transformation,” Minister Kumaraswamy stated.
The minister stressed the need for coordinated action among stakeholders. “The clean mobility mission cannot advance in isolation. This scheme showcases true cooperative federalism, with ministries, public enterprises, and states moving in sync.”
The initiative is expected to boost local manufacturing under the Make in India campaign, reduce carbon emissions, and generate green jobs. It also lays the foundation for India’s long-term goal of a net-zero emissions transport sector.
