New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the “PM-eBus Sewa-Payment Security Mechanism (PSM) scheme” for procurement and operation of e-buses by Public Transport Authorities (PTAs) with an outlay of Rs 3,435.33 crore. This scheme will support deployment of more than 38,000 electric buses (e-Buses) from Financial Year 2024-25 to FY 2028-29. The scheme will support the operation of e-buses for a period of up to 12 years from the date of deployment.
At present, the majority of buses operated by Public Transport Authorities (PTAs) run on diesel/CNG, causing adverse environmental impact. On the other hand, e-buses are environment friendly and have lower operational cost. However, it was anticipated that Public Transport Authorities (PTAs) would find it challenging to procure and operate e-buses because of their high upfront cost and lower realization of revenue from operations.
The Cabinet has also given green signal to the proposal of Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) for implementation of a scheme titled ‘PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) Scheme' for promotion of electric mobility in the country.
The scheme has an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore over a period of two years. The major components of the scheme are as Subsidies/Demand incentives worth Rs 3,679 crore have been provided to incentivize e-2Ws, e-3Ws, e-ambulances, e-trucks and other emerging EVs. The scheme will support 24.79 lakh e-2Ws, 3.16 lakh e-3Ws, and 14,028 e-buses.
MHI is introducing e-vouchers for EV buyers to avail demand incentives under the scheme. At the time of purchase of the EV, the scheme portal will generate an Aadhaar authenticated e-Voucher for the buyer. A link to download the e- voucher shall be sent to the registered mobile number of the buyer.
This e-voucher will be signed by the buyer and submitted to the dealer to avail demand incentives under the scheme. Thereafter, the e-Voucher will also be signed by the dealer and uploaded on the PM E-DRIVE portal. The signed e-voucher shall be sent to the buyer and dealer through an SMS. The signed e-voucher will be essential for OEM to claim reimbursement of demand incentives under the scheme.
A sum of Rs. 4,391 crore has been provided for procurement of 14,028 e-buses by STUs/public transport agencies. The demand aggregation will be done by CESL in the nine cities with more than 40 lakh population namely Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Surat, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad. Intercity and Interstate e-buses will also be supported in consultation with states.
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