The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) has approved 2877 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in 68 cities across 25 states and union territories under the second phase of faster adoption and manufacturing of hybrid and electric vehicles (FAME-II) program. The information was revealed by the Minister of State for Heavy Industries Krishan Pal Gurjar in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

FAME-II was initially intended for three years ending March 31, 2022. However, it was extended earlier this year by 24 months until March 31, 2024.

Maharashtra has 317 charging stations, the most permitted under FAME-II, out of which Mumbai alone has 229 charging stations.

Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, with 281, 278, 266, and 235 charging stations approved, respectively, were the other top states.

The notification further states that the Delhi – Kolkata highway has a total of 160 charging stations approved for Energy Efficiency Services Limited, and the Mumbai – Delhi highway has 124 charging stations approved for Bharat Electronics.

Of the total, 1,576 EV charging stations are approved across 16 highways and nine expressways. As per the Ministry of Power guidelines, there should be at least one charging station every 25 km on both sides of highways. There should also be at least one charging station for long-range heavy-duty EVs every 100 km on both sides of highways. In cities, at least one charging station needs to be set up in a three-kilometre square grid.

Under the FAME-I program, MHI had authorized about 520 charging stations at the cost of ₹430 million (~$5.65 million).

Recently, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency invited bids to hire agencies to develop energy benchmarking for EVs and EV chargers to estimate the impact of EV chargers on the grid.

As per a recent report, ‘Banking on Electric Vehicles in India’ by NITI Aayog, the inclusion of EVs in Reserve Bank of India’s priority sector lending guidelines could help unlock EV financing of up to ₹3.7 trillion (~$49.27 billion) by 2030.

In September, The Union Government had notified the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) program for automobile and auto components. It is estimated that the PLI program will lead to investments of over ₹425 billion (~$5.72 billion) in five years and incremental production of over ₹2.3 trillion (~$ 31 billion). The program is expected to create over 750,000 jobs.

Several states, including Assam, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Gujarat, have launched state-specific EV policies to bolster EV vehicle and infrastructure production in their respective states.