Robust charging infra key to achieving India's ambitious EV targets

The Ministry of Heavy Industries has identified 40 cities for electric four-wheeler charging-points with Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Hyderabad leading way, and 40 highway corridors for e-bus transit

The lack of charging stations has long been pinpointed as a brake on the faster growth of the electric-vehicle (EV) market in India. In this context, the government’s plans to provide up to 80 per cent or higher subsidies to the next-generation upstream infrastructure, or charging points, as reported in this newspaper, is an essential response to the problem. According to the report, the Rs 2,000 crore under the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-Drive) scheme, which replaces the earlier subsidy programme, will be spent to support 48,400 fast-charging points for electric two- and three-wheelers, 22,100