As on March 25 this year, the number of registered electric vehicles in the country is more than 10.75 lakh. According to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), a total of 1,742 Public Charging Stations (PCS) are operational in the country. There are around 940 charging stations in 9 cities of the country – Surat, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.
The Center has made efforts to augment the public charging infrastructure by involving private and public agencies – BEE, EESL, PGCIL, NTPC, etc. Several private organizations have come forward to set up EV charging stations, to develop a convenient charging network for the consumers.
The Ministry of Power had issued “Charging Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles – Revised Guidelines and Standards” on January 14 this year to accelerate the e-mobility transition in the country. Under the scheme for rapid adoption and manufacturing of electric vehicles in the FAME India Scheme of the Ministry of Heavy Industries, 2,877 public EV charging stations have been sanctioned in 68 cities.
Till February this year, 69 charging stations were installed in Noida. All the charging stations fitted come with standard charging sockets and are capable of charging all types of electric vehicles.
The Noida administration says such a move will lead to an increase in the use of electric vehicles in the area, which will improve the air quality. The administration believes that the number of electric vehicles will increase in the coming times, so the charging infrastructure will have to be enabled in advance.
Charging stations will also be available on the highway
Earlier this year, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had said that approval has also been given to build charging stations for electric vehicles in new highway projects. Gadkari said that the contractors have been directed to provide charging stations on the highway as a roadside facility.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is developing 39 projects where fast charging facility will be available along the highway for electric vehicles.
