India’s tier 2 cities now host 4,625 operational electric vehicle (EV) charging stations as of April 1, 2025, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Minister of State for Steel and Heavy Industries, Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, shared the data in a written reply and highlighted that Rs 2,000 crore has been allocated under the Prime Minister Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) Scheme to expand EV public-charging infrastructure, including in tier 2 cities such as those in Tamil Nadu.

Launched in October 2024, the PM E-DRIVE scheme aims to accelerate EV adoption through demand incentives and the creation of robust nationwide charging infrastructure. The scheme has earmarked Rs 10,900 crore in subsidies for electric vehicles.

“Setting up EV charging stations is an unlicensed activity, and private entrepreneurs are free to install them. The process is demand-driven and cannot be targeted with fixed numbers due to factors like EV penetration,” said Varma.

He further stated that Rs 873.50 crore has been sanctioned for the installation of 8,932 EV public charging stations (EVPCS) by oil marketing companies—IOCL, BPCL, and HPCL—under the FAME-II scheme.

India’s EV ecosystem has witnessed rapid growth, with the EV fleet expanding from just over 5,000 units in FY21 to more than 1.07 lakh units by FY25. The number of public charging stations has also grown significantly, from 5,151 to 26,000 over the past three years.

Additionally, the Centre has launched incentives of up to Rs 9.6 lakh per electric truck under the PM E-DRIVE scheme, aiming to support the deployment of approximately 5,600 e-trucks nationwide.