The central government on 10 December 2025 announced an allocation of ₹4,391 crore to procure 14,028 electric buses under the PM e-DRIVE scheme a key push to replace diesel buses and curb pollution from public transportation.
The buses will be deployed across nine major Indian cities with populations exceeding four million including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Surat and Pune.
Procurement will be handled by Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) through a competitive bidding and aggregation model, and the buses will be operated by respective State Transport Undertakings under a Gross Cost Contract (GCC) framework.
As part of the broader PM e-DRIVE plan, the government is also allocating ₹2,000 crore for setting up Electric Vehicle Public Charging Stations (EVPCS) along national highways and in major urban centres.
The move aims to accelerate the shift towards electric public transport, reducing vehicular emissions and improving air quality in urban areas. According to the Ministry of Heavy Industries, this is a significant step toward meeting national sustainability and climate-change targets.
Implementation is expected to begin soon in the nominated cities, with close coordination between CESL, state transport agencies and city authorities to ensure smooth rollout and integration of e-buses into existing public transport networks.
