Indian government to set up 69,000 EV charging stations
Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced to set up one e-charging kiosk at around 69,000 petrol stations across India, furthering the government's plan to make India an electric vehicle nation by 2030. He also added that the Centre has taken several steps to promote Electric Vehicles like reducing GST to 5% and allowing delinking of battery cost of 2/3-wheelers from the vehicle's price.
Indian auto industry a hub of robust R&D: Gadkari
"Our auto industry has made significant strides in terms of the development of different designs and models, robust R&D, huge market, stable government framework, and bright young engineering minds. India is the largest manufacturer of two-wheelers in the world," said Gadkari.
Centre's push toward building an infrastructure for electric vehicles
In February 2020, NTPC, EESL, and REIL were given an in-principle nod by the Union government to set up 2,600 EV charging stations. In October, the Department of Heavy Industry floated an Expression of Interest (EoI), inviting proposals from Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), state-owned distribution companies, government organizations, and other entities to set up and operate charging stations for electric vehicles.
Phase-II of the FAME Scheme has also been approved
The Union government has also approved Phase-II of the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India) scheme for 3-years starting from April 1, 2019. Under this phase, the Centre aims to support the development of EV charging infrastructure by extending capital grants to organizations so that they promote the usage of electric vehicles.
India's charging infrastructure to grow by 40% in 5-6 years
A MarketWatch report claims that India's charging infrastructure market is likely to grow at 40% YoY in the next 4-5 years. Industry experts are also convinced that 40-45% electric conversion is possible by 2030, provided that the infrastructure is created for it. As per Inc42Plus, India needs around 4 lakh charging stations by 2026 to meet the requirement of 20 lakh electric cars.
