SBI to hire consultant to explore biz potential in EV charging space

Amid the government's thrust on electric vehicles (EVs), the country's largest lender SBI has decided to hire a consultant to explore the business potential of digital payments in EV charging space.

As per the RFP document inviting bids from potential candidates, SBI said the consultant will be required to study the existing transport landscape and design a roadmap with detailed milestones and timelines to drive digital payments for EV charging across different modes of transport by identifying opportunities and barriers to build an e-mobility ecosystem.

SBI said the consultant will be tasked to explore and foresee the market potential for digital payments in EV charging space across the globe as well as to develop a strategic roadmap for EV charging payments solutions for various modes of transport and allied infrastructure including identification of vendors/dealers in value chain.

Among others, the consultant will also have to identify potential initiatives and areas of work to undertake through the capacity building programme and the necessary stakeholders and partnerships to execute the initiatives.

Also, it will be required to "provide recommendations on next steps and areas for support through investments and capacity building by development partners," SBI said in the request for proposal (RFP) document.

SBI said the eligible bidder must be an Indian company/ LLP /partnership firm registered under applicable Act in India.

Of the other requirements, it should have a minimum experience of 10 years in providing consulting services for payments' systems, 8 years in power distribution, 5 years in e-mobility and 8 years experience in institutional/strategy strengthening.

Further, the state-owned lender said the bidder should be a profitable organisation on the basis of profit before tax for at least two years out of the last three financial years.

"The bidder must have an average turnover of minimum Rs 5 crore during last three financial years i.e. FY 2018-19, FY 2019-20 and FY 2020-21," the bid document said.

Last date for submitting the bid is May 10, 2022 and the consultant has been asked to complete the work in maximum four months.

As per the latest government data, total 10,60,707 electric vehicles are registered in India till mid-March. As many as 1,742 public charging stations (PCS) are operational in the country.

Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari last month said EV charging stations are to be provided by the developer on national highways as part of the wayside amenities (WSAs).