Karnataka Plans 1,500 EV Stations under PM E-Drive Scheme

• Karnataka plans 1,500 fast EV chargers (60–240kW) under PM E-Drive.
• 6,097 chargers already; upgrading 209 slow to fast stations.
• Targets e-buses, trucks; subsidies 80–100%; 4,500 e-buses sought.

Karnataka is the first state to embrace the use of electric vehicles in India by deciding to install 1,500 high-capacity EV charging stations under the PM E-Drive scheme to primarily cater to the fast charging of heavy vehicles like buses and trucks.

The state that currently has 6,097 public chargers, which is the highest number in India, intends to develop the facilities not only along the roads but also at the freight corridors and logistics hubs, where the expenditure will be supported by the 80–100% central subsidies mostly, thus, keeping the state's contribution minimal.

The PM E-Drive scheme, launched in October 2024, is a multi-faceted program that focuses on electric vehicles and their promotion, apart from charging networks and making local components. Karnataka's plan with this regard is to get support for 4500 e-buses.

The proposal from the nodal agency, Bescom, is expected soon at the Union Ministry of Heavy Industries for approval. The subsidies are designed to cover 100% of the costs of upstream elements, such as transformers, and 70% of other elements.

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N. Shivashankara, Managing Director of Bescom, stated, "The scheme gives 100% subsidy to the upstream components, and up to 70 % to others." The government is converting 209 slow chargers (184 completed) into fast chargers (30–45 minutes vs. 3–4 hours), with a budget of ₹5–8 lakh per station. Meanwhile, the IOCL, HPCL, and BPCL partnerships will roll out 400 chargers along fuel stations.

By August 2025, the country had 29,000 chargers spread across India. Karnataka's program is in line with this and is targeted at the e-buses and e-trucks, part of which past talks with the Union Minister and H.D. Kumaraswamy for the better aid were.