New Delhi: Signalling a significant push to Electric Vehicle (EV) charging ecosystem, Union Minister of Heavy Industries Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey today announced the sanction of Rs. 800 crores to the Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) Oil Marketing Companies (OMC) – Indian Oil (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) – for setting up 7432 public fast charging stations across the country.
These fast-charging stations will be set up in all the metros, million-plus cities, smart cities notified by MoHUA, cities of hilly states across the country, and highways and expressways across the country. The charging capacity shall be used for charging electric 2-wheelers, 4-wheelers, light commercial vehicles, and minibuses.
The installation is expected to be completed by March 2024. Dr Pandey said this move will encourage more people to switch to cleaner modes of transportation. He also added that the government is committed to promoting sustainable green mobility solutions and reducing the country’s carbon emissions.
At present, there are about 6,586 charging stations across the country. The setting up of the new charging stations would be under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II (FAME India Phase II) Scheme which has a budgetary outlay of Rs. 10,000 crores for a period of five years commencing from April 1, 2019, to promote hybrid/ electric technology in transportation so as to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and to address issues of vehicular emissions.
Among the current challenges in EV adoption is the time taken for charging vehicles. These EV charging stations from OMCs will be of the CCS-II type with a capacity of 50 KW and above, offering efficient and fast charging for EV owners, especially for those looking for on-the-go top-up charging.
Further, the government said it has taken the following steps to promote the adoption of electric vehicles in the country:
- The demand incentive for electric two-wheelers has been increased to Rs.15,000/KWh from Rs.10,000/KWh along with an increase in cap from 20% to 40% of the cost of an electric vehicle with effect from 11th June 2021, thus enabling the cost of Electric two-wheelers at par with that of Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) two-wheeler vehicles.
- GST on electric vehicles has been reduced from 12% to 5%; GST on chargers/ charging stations for electric vehicles has been reduced from 18% to 5%.
- Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) announced that battery-operated Vehicles will be given green license plates and be exempted from permit requirements for carrying passengers or goods.
- MoRTH issued a notification advising states to waive road tax on EVs, which in turn will help reduce the initial cost of EVs.
– global bihari bureau
