The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has invited Expression of Interest (EoI) from charging point operators (CPOs) for setting up public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations under the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme.
KSEB on Friday invited EoI for category C operators of the scheme to set up charging stations on land with “unrestricted public access”. Category C includes charging infrastructure for locations such as city streets, shopping malls, market complexes and highways.
The charging point operator must be an established organization or company involved in the development and management of EV charging infrastructure, KSEB said.
PM E-DRIVE has a national expenditure of ₹10,900 crore. The Union Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) has earmarked ₹2,000 crore for public charging infrastructure under the four PM E-DRIVE categories. The main goal is to accelerate EV adoption by creating a robust network of public charging networks across the country.
Nodal Agency
Through an order dated October 16, the Kerala government has designated KSEB as the state nodal agency for the scheme for gathering demand for charging stations and submitting proposals to MHI. In category C, CPOs are entitled to an 80% subsidy on upstream infrastructure costs.
KSEB has already submitted proposals for Phase I and Phase II under the scheme involving land owned by KSEB and allotted by the government. These proposals cover 342 sites with 1,030 chargers in categories A and B at an estimated project cost of ₹274 crore. Category A includes State and Union Government premises and Category B, places in cities and along highways owned or controlled by State and Union Governments.
Online portal
“While KSEB directly coordinates with the Departments for Category A and B (Public Land), it has developed a dedicated online portal to facilitate applications from CPOs for Category C,” the EoI document said. MHI has full authority for final evaluation and approval of proposals and is responsible for approving and releasing grants under the program.
Kerala currently has over 3 million electric vehicles on its roads, mostly passenger vehicles. The state is now setting up high-capacity charging infrastructure and related facilities for e-trucks along freight corridors under PM E-DRIVE.
Published – 21 Dec 2025 19:22 IST
