New Delhi: The Government of India is set to significantly reduce public transport emissions through the PM e-DRIVE Scheme, which was notified on September 29, 2024, with a total financial outlay of ₹4,391 crore for the deployment of 14,028 electric buses (e-buses) across nine major Indian cities.
This information was shared by the Minister of State for Heavy Industries Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on December 9.
The initial phase of implementation covers cities with populations exceeding 40 lakh, including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Surat, and Pune. The large-scale deployment is aimed at accelerating India’s transition toward clean and sustainable urban mobility.
Under the scheme, Bengaluru alone has been allocated 4,500 e-buses, making it one of the largest beneficiaries. The procurement of e-buses is being undertaken through an aggregation model via competitive bidding by Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL). Financial support for the operations is being extended to State and city transport undertakings through the Operational Expenditure (OPEX) and Gross Cost Contract (GCC) models.
The Ministry of Heavy Industries, along with CESL, is coordinating closely with all nine identified cities to ensure the smooth rollout of e-buses under the PM e-DRIVE framework.
In parallel, the scheme is also strengthening the country’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The setting up of Electric Vehicle Public Charging Stations (EVPCS) has been classified as an unlicensed activity, allowing private entrepreneurs to freely participate. An additional ₹2,000 crore has been allocated under the PM e-DRIVE scheme for establishing EV public charging stations on a pan-India basis, including along national highways and in major metropolitan cities such as Bengaluru.
The operational guidelines for setting up EVPCS under the PM e-DRIVE scheme were formally released on September 26, 2025.
The government emphasized that the combined rollout of e-buses and nationwide charging infrastructure under PM e-DRIVE will play a critical role in cutting urban transport emissions, improving air quality, and advancing India’s broader clean energy and climate commitments.