The Centre’s PM E-DRIVE scheme, notified on September 29, 2024, aims to cut emissions from public transport through the large-scale deployment of electric buses across major cities. The programme has an outlay of ₹4,391 crore for the rollout of 14,028 e-buses in nine cities with populations above 40 lakh — Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Surat and Pune.
Under the scheme, Bengaluru has been allocated 4,500 e-buses, with procurement being carried out through an aggregation model by Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL). Support is extended to state and city transport undertakings through the operational expenditure or gross cost contract model. The Ministry of Heavy Industries and CESL are coordinating with participating cities to ensure timely deployment.
The scheme also encourages the expansion of charging infrastructure. As charging stations fall under unlicensed activity, private operators are free to set up facilities. In addition, ₹2,000 crore has been earmarked under PM E-DRIVE for establishing Electric Vehicle Public Charging Stations across the country, including national highways and metropolitan regions such as Bengaluru. Operational guidelines for these stations were issued on September 26, 2025.
The details were provided by Minister of State for Heavy Industries Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
