Govt's Masterplan To Increase Electric Car Sales In India

When the Union Cabinet cleared the ₹10,900-crore PM E-Drive scheme last September, it was pitched as the next big push to get more Indians driving electric cars. Ten months later, it is clear that this is not just another subsidy plan. The target is to raise electric-car market share from 2.8 per cent today to around seven per cent by FY 2028, and the chosen route is heavy investment in public charging points.

On paper, the numbers look bold. By March 2026, the country is supposed to have 72,000 public EV chargers. States, city transport bodies and PSUs have been told to map traffic on routes they control and submit their charging needs.

The plan covers 22 kW DC chargers for two-wheelers, 60 kW CCS-II fast chargers for cars and 240 kW high-capacity chargers for buses and trucks. The government will cover up to 80 per cent of behind-the-meter costs such as transformers and civil works, leaving the hardware to the operator.

The 60 kW Question

The 60 kW limit for most car chargers is one of the weaker parts of the plan. Many current electric cars in India can take much higher charging rates. The rapid 20 to 80 per cent charging times advertised by manufacturers are often based on at least 150 kW chargers. On a long highway trip, a 60 kW charger could mean waiting almost twice as long, and this could put off buyers who expect a quick top-up. If the goal is to support inter-city EV travel, the network may need more high-speed chargers rather than a blanket 60 kW standard.

Fix What Exists First

The bigger issue is reliability. India already has over 26,000 public chargers, but more than half of them are often out of service. For drivers, that means wasted time, detours and frustration. Rolling out tens of thousands of new chargers without fixing maintenance and uptime issues risks repeating the same problem on a larger scale. A portion of PM E-Drive funds could be better spent on repairing, upgrading and monitoring existing infrastructure so that every listed charger actually works.

Coverage and Access Goals

The plan does have a strong geographic focus. Forty highway corridors, including Delhi–Lucknow, Chennai–Bengaluru and Guwahati–Shillong, must have a charger every 25 km by December 2026. In six cities [Bengaluru, Pune, Surat, Jaipur, Indore and Kochi] the target is one fast charger in every 3 km × 3 km grid. The locations will include fuel stations, railway stations, airports and toll plazas, with oil companies required to host at least 8,900 chargers on their premises.

For consumers, this means better visibility. The scheme calls for a unified “super-app” developed by BHEL, showing real-time charger status, allowing bookings and enabling payments across all networks. If done right, this will make finding and using chargers easier, although its usefulness still depends on the chargers working when needed.

Hurdles Remain. Execution Key

There are other challenges. Government benchmark costs for chargers are seen as outdated, and high electricity tariffs could hurt usage. Still, private players are investing heavily, with Hyundai, Suzuki and Tesla making moves that align with the PM E-Drive rollout.

If deadlines are met, India could have one public charger for every 25 EVs by FY 2028. That would be a big step forward, but success will not be judged by installation counts alone. The real test will be whether those chargers are fast enough, working reliably and supported by a system that treats maintenance as seriously as expansion. Without that, the masterplan risks building a shiny new network that still leaves EV owners waiting.