Government plans to expand network of electric vehicle charging stations – EQ Mag Pro
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There are a total of 1,640 public EV charging stations in India.
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Out of those, 940 can be found in nine major cities.
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The country plans on having 22,000 EV charging stations in the near future.
New Delhi: That electric vehicles (EVs) are the future of the automobile industry is beyond doubt. In India too, EVs are slowly finding their way to our streets with a number of major automobile manufacturers now offering them. A significant issue with such vehicles is the range. None of the EVs offer a range comparable to petrol or diesel vehicle. Adding to that is the fact that while petrol stations can be found easily, EV charging stations are difficult to spot.
The government is trying to ensure more EVs on the streets, given it is a cleaner fuel. The Ministry of Power had also issued Guidelines and Standards for EV charging infrastructure on January 14. On Saturday, the government also announced plans it has undertaken to strengthen the charging infrastructure in the country.
Here are the measures the government has taken so far:
A number of public sector companies like BEE, EESL, PGCIL and NTPC have come forward to offer charging stations; the government has also facilitated private sector players in the sector.
The charging stations should be in an area of a three kilometre by three kilometre grid system. As of now, a total of 1,640 public operational EV charging stations are available in the country.
Nine cities – Surat, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai – have 940 of those. The government has focused on these cities, with a population of over four million people, first.
A total of 678 charging stations have come up in these nine cities between October 2021 and January 2022; a number which is 2.5 times the same last year. In this interval, a total of 1.8 lakh electric vehicles were added to Indian roads. The government says it will expand the coverage to other cities in a phased manner.
The Department of Heavy Industry has announced that it has sanctioned 1,576 charging stations which will be stationed on 25 highways and expressways at every 25 kms.
Companies across the country have announced that India will see 22,000 EV charging stations in major cities and highways across India. The IOCL has announced that it will install 10,000 out of those with 7,000 under Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL). The remaining 5,000 will be installed by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL).
As of now, IOCL has already put 439 stations in place, BPCL has installed 52 while the number is 382 for HPCL.
Recognizing the issue of a dearth of charging infrastructure, the government has said, “The availability of adequate charging infrastructure had been the key impediments for accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles in India.”
Source: news9live
