India's tier 2 cities have 4,625 EV charging stations: Centre

New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) As many as 4,625 EV charging stations are operational in the tier 2 cities in the country (as on April 1, 2025), according to the government.

In addition, Rs. 2,000 crore has been allocated under the Prime Minister Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) Scheme for the establishment of electric vehicle public-charging stations (EV PCS) across India, including tier 2 cities in Tamil Nadu, said Minister of State for Steel and Heavy Industries, Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

The PM E-DRIVE scheme was launched in October 2024 to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) through demand incentives and expand EV charging infrastructure nationwide. The Centre has allocated Rs 10,900 crore for subsidies to EVs under this scheme.

"Setting up electric vehicle charging stations is an unlicensed activity and private entrepreneurs can also install the charging stations. The installation of EV charging stations is demand driven activity and no target can be set as installation depends on many factors including EV penetration," the minister added.

The Centre has allocated Rs. 873.50 crore towards the installation of 8,932 EVPCS by the three oil marketing companies (OMCs) namely IOCL, BPCL and HPCL under the FAME-II Scheme, he further said.

Meanwhile, electric car sales penetration is expected to cross 7 per cent by FY 28, subject to timely resolution of rare earth element (REE) disruptions and the government’s continuous push to improve charging infrastructure in the country.

India’s EV fleet grew from just over 5,000 units in FY21 to more than 1.07 lakh units in FY25. Meanwhile, over the past three years, the number of public EV charging stations in the country grew from 5,151 to 26,000.

Earlier this month, the government launched a groundbreaking scheme to provide financial incentives for electric trucks (e-trucks) under the PM E-DRIVE initiative, with the maximum incentive set at Rs 9.6 lakh per vehicle.

The scheme is expected to support the deployment of approximately 5,600 e-trucks across the country.

--IANS

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