New Delhi, Dec 2 (IANS) The government has disbursed Rs 1,634.62 crore as subsidy under the PM E-DRIVE Scheme till November 23 this year, the Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

Minister of State for Heavy Industries Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, said that an allocation of Rs 500 crore has been made under the PM E-DRIVE Scheme towards e-ambulances, and stakeholder consultations have been done to notify guidelines for e-ambulances.

The scheme has been extended till March 31, 2028, for e-ambulances, including other segments, but for e2Ws and e-3Ws, the terminal date remains March 31, 2026, he added.

Verma further stated that under the PM E-DRIVE scheme, there is an allocation of Rs 2,000 crore for the setting up of electric vehicles’ public charging infrastructure. As on November 23 this year, no grants have been disbursed for the installation of such charging infrastructure. Two oil marketing companies have shown interest and submitted proposals for the installation of electric vehicles’ public charging infrastructure under the PM E-DRIVE Scheme.

He also said that under the PM E-DRIVE Scheme, 1,500 e-buses have been allocated to Mumbai and 2,800 e-buses have been allocated to Delhi. Other than Mumbai, 1,000 e-buses have been allocated to Pune in Maharashtra.

In order to ensure utilisation, accessibility, the guidelines for EV charging infrastructure under the PM E-Drive Scheme have been notified and shared with the state governments and UT administrations, he added.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) has issued operational guidelines which earmark an outlay of Rs 2,00 crore for offering subsidies of up to 100 per cent for setting up public charging stations for electric vehicles in cities and across highways under the Rs 10,900 crore PM E-DRIVE scheme.

Government premises such as offices, hospitals, educational institutions and Central public sector enterprises will receive 100 per cent subsidy on both upstream infrastructure and EV charging equipment, provided the chargers offer free public access, the guidelines state.

In the case of bus stations operated by state transport undertakings, metro stations, municipal parking lots, public sector ports and NHAI/state government-controlled toll plazas & way-side amenities on highways and expressways, the subsidy will cover 80 per cent of upstream infrastructure and 70 per cent of EV supply equipment cost.

Locations like airports, railway stations, fuel retail outlets of state-run oil marketing companies like Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, metro stations and bus depots will get 80 per cent subsidy on infrastructure and 70 per cent on charging equipment.

Battery swapping and charging stations are also covered, with an 80 per cent subsidy support.

The scheme will give priority to urban centres with a population of over one million, smart cities, satellite towns connected to 7 metros (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad), state capitals, and high-density national and state highways. Public transport hubs such as railway stations, airports, and fuel retail outlets have also been earmarked for receiving infrastructure support.

–IANS

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