Govt focusing on EV charging infrastructure, renewable energy integration: HD Kumaraswamy

Limited charging infrastructure has been the biggest barrier to adopting electric vehicles in the country. The government is now shifting focus more to improving the charging infrastructure and integrating it with renewable energy sources, according to Minister of Heavy Industries HD Kumaraswamy.

“In order to ensure continuous growth in e-mobility, our ministry is now focusing on charging infrastructure. While developing the charging infrastructure, we are conscious that integrating this infrastructure with renewable energy sources is essential for maximizing the environmental benefits of electric mobility,” Kumaraswamy said while speaking at the annual session of SIAM.

The government had been incentivizing oil marketing companies (OMCs) through the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme to set up public electric vehicle charging stations. 

The charging infrastructure side has been not receiving any push after the expiration of FAME 2 scheme in March. The government is likely to launch the third phase of the FAME scheme in a month or two. The temporary Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS) 2024 doesn’t have any incentives the infrastructure side.

Over 12,000 public electric vehicle charging stations are there in India. However, India lags behind many matured electric vehicle markets in charging infrastructure as it has only one electric vehicle charger for close to 135 vehicles.
The industry has been pushing for higher charger-to-vehicle density, advocating that it is critical to encourage more consumers to transition to electric vehicles by alleviating range anxiety.