The government has begun the process of inviting bids for around 1000 electric vehicle charging stations to be set up in cities with over a million people and others notified as smart cities. The Ministry of Heavy Industries has invited Expressions of Interest (EoI) from those looking to set up EV infrastructure in the country.

These charging stations will be set up in million-plus cities as per the 2011 census; and smart cities as notified by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the ministry said. EoIs and proposals have also been invited from satellite towns connected to seven metros (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Ahmadabad); major cities of special categories State/UTs; and the capital city of all states/UTs not covered in the above categories.

Initially, 1000 EV charging stations are earmarked for deployment through this EoI. These charging stations will be sanctioned to different states/cities/entities after evaluation of the proposals received under this EOI, the heavy industries ministry said. The last date for submission of the proposals is August 20, 2019. According to the notice, the charging station should be connected with the ‘grid-connected solar power plant’ of required capacity as per MNRE guidelines to ensure grid stability and green energy for electric vehicles.