Centre approves Rs 503 crore for 4,874 EV chargers across India

The Minister also said the Ministry of Heavy Industries is working on the Unified Bharat e-Charge platform, which will enable EV users to discover, access and pay across charging networks through a single trusted interface.

The minister said that the initiative aims to address evolving infrastructure barriers and simplify EV charging management through a unified platform. “Just as UPI transformed digital payments, this initiative aims to strengthen India’s EV charging ecosystem at scale,” Kumaraswamy said.

Kumaraswamy said the Ministry of Heavy Industries, in coordination with the Ministry of Power, State Governments and industry stakeholders, is also working to ensure grid readiness, standardisation and digital integration to support the rapid growth of electric mobility in the country.

With the Unified Bharat e-Charge platform EV owners may no longer need multiple apps, wallets and logins to charge their vehicles. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has developed the framework for the National Unified EV Charging Hub, while Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) will oversee the platform. Envisaged as a “one nation, one app” system, the platform is expected to go live in the coming weeks.

Under the framework, EV users will be able to locate, book, access and pay for charging stations across operators through a single interface, irrespective of whether the charger belongs to Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Indian Oil Corporation, ChargeZone, Statiq or other charging providers.

The initiative seeks to address one of the biggest pain points for EV users today, the need to navigate separate apps, payment systems and credentials to access different charging networks. Charger discovery remains cumbersome, particularly during highway travel, while users frequently encounter non-functional charging stations with little visibility on uptime or availability.

The push also reflects concerns that fragmented charging ecosystems are hurting charger utilisation and slowing infrastructure investments. Officials increasingly believe that integrating disparate networks into a common platform could improve customer experience and make charging infrastructure more commercially viable.

Outlining the future roadmap, the Minister said the country’s EV charging infrastructure strategy would be guided by three principles — accessibility, affordability and reliability — to ensure charging facilities are available, affordable and dependable across both urban and rural India.

Calling the transition a defining moment for the country’s future, Kumaraswamy said the EV movement is not merely about infrastructure creation but about reducing dependence on fossil fuels, strengthening energy security and building a sustainable future for generations to come. 

“Together, we are not merely installing charging stations, we are powering the future of India,” the Minister said. 

More than 5 million EVs are currently on the roads, while public charging infrastructure remains limited. As of December 2025, the country had around 29,151 public EV chargers, including only about 8,805 fast chargers, spread across nearly 100 operators.

The rollout comes alongside a wider infrastructure push under the PM E-Drive scheme, under which the government has allocated Rs 2,000 crore for installation of nearly 72,300 public EV charging stations nationwide. The plan includes 22,100 fast chargers for electric four-wheelers, 1,800 chargers for electric buses and 48,400 chargers for electric two- and three-wheelers.