As India strives towards decarbonizing the transport sector, the country has installed 8,738 operational public electric vehicle charging stations, as of June 30, 2023, according to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and the Ministry of Power data.

The information was shared by the Minister of State for Heavy Industries, Krishan Pal Gurjar, in a written response to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

The increasing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has led to the faster deployment of necessary charging infrastructure.

The minister further stated that as of July 14, 2023, India has 2.7 million EVs registered in various states of India, as per the data available on the government portal Vahan.

The top five states in India with the highest number of registered EVs are Uttar Pradesh (556,629), Maharashtra (296,885), Karnataka (239,948), Delhi (229,305), and Rajasthan (175,595). The share of EVs among the total number of vehicles registered in these states is about 1.27%, 0.86%, 0.80%, 2.71%, and 0.93%, respectively, reflecting their commitment to promoting sustainable and eco-friendly mobility solutions.

The government, through various programs, has accelerated the adoption of EVs in India.

The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) India program was launched in 2015 to promote the adoption and manufacturing of hybrid and EVs in India on a pan-India basis.

In Phase II of the FAME India program, buyers of electric vehicles are offered incentives in the form of upfront price reductions.

The incentive depends on the battery capacity, with ₹10,000 (~$122.17)/kWh for electric three and four-wheeler vehicles, capped at 20% of the vehicle cost.

For electric-two-wheeler vehicles, the incentive is fixed at ₹10,000 (~$122.17)/kWh with a cap of 15% of the vehicle cost, effective June 1, 2023.

Phase II of the program is currently being implemented for five years starting from April 1, 2019, with total budgetary support of ₹100 billion (~$1.2 billion).

Earlier this year, a parliamentary committee recommended extending the FAME-II program by two years beyond its current March 31, 2024, deadline to allow more time to evaluate its effectiveness and make necessary adjustments to promote EVs.

Other than the FAME program incentives, various states have also rolled out incentives for EVs in the state through their Electric Vehicle Policies.

EV sales in India reached 371,340 units in the second quarter (Q2) of 2023, a year-over-year (YoY) increase of 66% compared to 223,293 units sold in the same period last year. Sales increased by 6% compared to 349,676 units sold in the previous quarter. As of June 2023, the number of registered EVs in India has exceeded 2.4 million.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, R.K. Singh, Union Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, noted that the government aims to install a total of 46,397 public charging stations for EVs in nine major cities by the end of the decade.