In a bid to boost auto sales and strengthen the Electric Vehicles (EV) market, the Department of Heavy Industries (DHI) has invited proposals for setting up of EV charging facilities on major highways. These infrastructure projects will be incentivized under Phase II of the central government’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of EV (FAME) program.
Installation, construction, and operating charges should be included in the proposals with a deadline set on Dec 7, 2020. Construction of the charging infrastructure should be completed within nine months from the approval date.
Proposals for the construction are accepted only from government organizations, oil pubic sector undertakings, state or central distribution companies, and PSUs or other state entities.
Proposals have been invited from interested entities to build and operate EV charging infrastructure on several highways including the Mumbai – Pune, , Delhi-Agra Yamuna, Ahmedabad-Vadodara, Bengaluru-Mysore, Bengaluru-Chennai, , Agra – Lucknow, Eastern Peripheral, Surat – Mumbai, amongst others.
Construction of EV charging units will drive demand for steel in the country. In the coming years, consumers might go for EVs which will boost demand for auto sales eventually. Demand for nickel is high with EVs gaining popularity and several global mining companies are focusing on nickel exploration.