Chandigarh to get 70 EV charging stations

CHANDIGARH: With the aim of encouraging and expanding the use of electric vehicles in India, the central government approved the installation of a total of 70 charging stations in Chandigarh. The sanction has been given as a part of Phase II of the Faster Adoption of Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) scheme.

Under the scheme, a total of 2,636 new charging stations will be set up in 62 cities in 24 states and union territories. According to Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister, Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, this will encourage original equipment manufacturers to launch new electric vehicle models in India which will thereby provide more options for the consumers and in turn encourage them to use electric vehicles.

Once the installation of these charging stations is complete in Chandigarh, at least one charging station will be available in every sector of the city. This will help in boosting the confidence of the users of electric vehicles in terms of range anxiety.

In order to facilitate the installation process, the Ministry of Heavy Industries has invited expressions of interest from entities for availing incentives under the FAME India Scheme Phase II. After the signing of relevant memorandums of understanding with partner organisations like city municipal corporations and acquisition of land for charging stations, the selected entities will be issued with sanction letters.

Subsequently, selected public entities are required to initiate the procurement process in a time-bound manner for deployment of sanctioned charging stations.