The PM E-DRIVE Scheme notified on 29/09/2024has an allocation of Rs.4,391 crore for deployment of 14,028 e-buses, initially in nine cities with population of more than 40 lakh viz.Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Surat, and Pune. Thisaims to reduce the emissions by public transport.

Under the PM E-DRIVE scheme, 4,500 e-buses have been allocated to Bengaluru.Procurement of e-buses on aggregationmodel through competitive bidding is being carried out by Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL).  Support for e-buses is provided through State/city transport undertakings (STUs) on operational expenditure (OPEX)/ gross cost contract (GCC) model. The Ministry of Heavy Industries and CESL are co-ordinating with the nine cities including Bengaluru for roll-out of e-buses under the scheme.

Setting up of electric vehicle charging stations is an unlicensed activity and private entrepreneurs may also participate in the activity. In addition to this, an allocation of Rs. 2,000 crore has been made under the PM E-DRIVE scheme for setting up of Electric Vehicle Public Charging Stations (EVPCS) on pan India basis including national highways and metropolitan cities like Bengaluru. Operational guidelines for EVPCS under PM E-DRIVE scheme have been released on 26^th September, 2025.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Heavy Industries, Shri Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

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  TPJ/NJ