India needs up to $30 bn for EV charging infra to double growth pace: IESA

India needs investment worth $20-30 billion in the EV charging infrastructure to double the pace of growth of the segment, industry body IESA said on Thursday.

It is a very niche segment which has just started picking up in the country, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) President Debi Prasad Dash said.

Sharing his estimates, Dash said the EV charging infrastructure segment is growing at a rate of 25-30 per cent currently in India.

To double this growth, investments worth $20-30 billion would be required, he said at the 'IESA India EV Fast Charging Summit' in the national capital.

On PM E-Drive Scheme, Dash said "We (industry) all are waiting for the scheme to be floated. A few of the things the government is considering before outing the full scheme is they are trying to (figure out) state-wise demand allocation, considering the density of the vehicles in different localities in states and cities."  It will give a boost to the EV Charging space and adoption of EVs in the country, Dash said.

In September, the Union Cabinet approved the PM Electric Drive Revolution In Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) Scheme with an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore for two years to boost adoption of electric vehicles in India, replacing the flagship FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) programme that ran for nine years till March.

The scheme will support 24.79 lakh electric two-wheelers, 3.16 lakh e-three wheelers, and 14,028 e-buses.

The PM E-DRIVE scheme will also support 88,500 charging sites.