



Tender for 6,230 electric buses deferred by a month
NEW DELHI: The Centre’s second e-bus tender under the ₹10,900 crore PM E-Drive scheme, for 2,900 e-buses in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, and Mumbai, and 3,330 buses in Delhi has been deferred by one month.The tender for 6,230 e-buses opened for manufacturers and operators on 9 January this year, and was scheduled to close on 10 March. But a 6 March notification by Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), the government’s demand aggregation agency, showed the closing date was deferred to 9 April.
CESL did not attribute reasons for the deferral.The PM E-Drive scheme has an allocation of ₹4,391 crore towards subsidies for 14,028 e-buses in nine cities. While 3,330 buses for Delhi under this tender will not be subsidised, the government will cover 20-35% of the cost of procuring the remaining 2,900 e-buses in four cities.This is the fourth time an e-bus tender under the PM E-Drive scheme was deferred.
The previous tender for 10,900 e-buses under the scheme was deferred thrice, with bids closing in November 2025 instead of the planned August date.CESL is responsible for demand aggregation and tendering of 14,028 e-buses under the scheme.CESL, the ministry of heavy industries, which operates the scheme, and e-bus makers Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, Eka Mobility, JBM Auto, PMI Electro and Olectra Greentech did not immediately respond to email queries.An industry executive suggested that the delays on tenders have become routine, which is not ideal given the pace of electrification needed. "We are ready to meet the demand and participate but the delay has once again come into the picture," the executive said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.Pune-based busmaker Eka Mobility had confirmed to Mint in January that it would
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