More electric buses likely for Karnataka under PM E-Drive scheme

New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Heavy Industries has accepted the request submitted by the Karnataka government seeking distribution of electric buses under the Central Government-sponsored PM E-Drive initiative.

Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy responded positively to the request made by Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, citing the need to further improve the urban public transport system in major cities of the state, including Bengaluru.

Kumaraswamy held important talks with Minister Ramalinga Reddy, who met him at the Cabinet Office in New Delhi, to further improve the state’s urban transport system.

Assuring full support from the Centre to the Karnataka government, Minister Kumaraswamy assured that the process of allocating electric buses was already underway and Karnataka would be allocated electric buses in a phased manner and on priority.

“I will ensure that Karnataka gets appropriate support from the Central Government,” Kumaraswamy clearly told Ramalinga Reddy.

“The PM E-Drive scheme is progressing very successfully due to the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Central Government is making a huge effort to introduce electric buses across India, including Karnataka, to reduce pollution emitted by vehicles to zero in the transport system, especially in urban areas. Karnataka will definitely get more buses under the PM E-Drive scheme,” he said.

Under the PM E-Drive initiative, 14,000 electric buses will be distributed to nine major cities. Discussions are underway between the Central and State governments to provide related infrastructure, including charging stations, bus depots and vehicle management systems.

Minister Kumaraswamy said that senior officials of the ministry have been given clear directions to ensure the speedy implementation of this scheme in the already identified urban clusters.

“More than distributing electric buses, we are providing a cleaner, smarter and better transport system to the people of India,” the Union Minister said.

“Bengaluru is now the fastest growing city. In this regard, providing a pollution-free transport system in the city is our top priority,” Kumaraswamy added.

The PM E-Drive initiative aims to provide a pollution-free transport system in cities with 14,028 electric buses in total.

The Central government is spending ₹10,900 crore over a period of two years for this scheme.