India Aims at 9-Fold Jump in Public EV Charging Stations by 2030

The country has 5,254 public charging stations currently

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The government aims to install a total of 46,397 public charging stations (PCS) for electric vehicles (EV) in nine major cities by the end of the decade. The information was provided by R.K. Singh, Union Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, (MNRE) in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has prepared an action plan for the installations. The country currently has only about 5,254 PCS under operation. BEE has been selected as the central nodal agency to undertake the various initiatives.

The move comes as part of the Indian Government’s push to promote electric mobility for which several initiatives, including increasing the charging infrastructure for EVs have been announced.

Boosting charging infrastructure

The power ministry has clarified that charging EVs through charging stations does not require licenses.

 The Central Electricity Authority has also issued amendments to the regulations regarding technical standards pertaining to grid connectivity and the safety of supply for charging stations.

Additionally, a nationwide “Go Electric” campaign to educate the general public on the benefits of EVS has been launched by the different ministries along with NITI Aayog.

Both the central ministries and state governments have been urged to convert their fleet of official vehicles from present fossil-fuel-based vehicles to EVs and join the government of India’s initiative on transformative mobility.

Also, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has issued amendments to the model building by-laws and urban and regional development plans, formulation, and implementation guidelines regarding charging infrastructure for EVs.

In November 2022, the Power Ministry issued amendments to the guidelines for charging infrastructure for EVs. Under the revision, the public charging stations must have the feature of the prepaid collection of service charges with updated rates and discounts for solar hours.

Recently, the National Highways Authority of India proposed to power EV charging stations along highways with solar energy wherever feasible, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said.

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