Despite industry demand, EV charging may not get infra status in budget
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: Despite demands from the electric vehicle (EV) industry, the government may not grant 'infrastructure industry' status to the charging infrastructure sector in the upcoming budget on 1 February, two people aware of the development said.
An infrastructure industry status, which allows stakeholders to secure credit at lower interest rates, is unlikely to be granted in the near term, the people mentioned said, because provisions to boost the charging infrastructure are already provided for in the PM E-drive scheme, in operation since October 2024. The scheme, the third to incentivize adoption of electric vehicles in the last decade, has allocated ₹2,000 crore for setting up public charging stations over the next two years.
Public sector oil marketing companies have also undertaken a massive EV charging infrastructure expansion with a projected cumulative capex of ₹20,000 crore. Also read | The case for subsidizing electric vehicles Charging infrastructure is critical in India, where EV adoption is growing rapidly.
Over 1.3 million EVs were sold in April-November 2024, compared with 1 million sold in the corresponding period the year before, according to data provided by the ministry of heavy industries. The Union power ministry stated in a parliamentary disclosure that India has a little over 25,000 public charging stations for EVs.
In comparison, there were over 85,000 petrol stations in the country as on 1 January, 2023, according to a Lok Sabha disclosure by the union ministry of petroleum and natural gas. The need to massively expand the EV charging infrastructure is also important as it allays range anxiety, a crucial challenge as India sets about its goal of seeing 30% of
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