In an interview with AutoEV Times, Virendra Goyal, Head – EV Charging, Tata Power, spoke about India’s evolving EV charging landscape and the infrastructure needed to accelerate electric mobility adoption. He discussed Tata Power’s plans to expand public and home charging, the role of policy and grid connectivity, and the importance of reliable, accessible and digitally enabled charging networks across cities, highways, workplaces and emerging markets nationwide.
Read the full interview here:
AET: How would you assess the current state of EV charging infrastructure in India, and what are the biggest gaps that still need to be addressed for wider EV adoption?
Virendra: India’s EV market is entering a new phase of growth. We now have over one crore registered electric vehicles on our roads, and EV penetration has also increased massively. Charging infrastructure has expanded rapidly alongside the growth of electric vehicles. The country has moved from around 5,000 public charging stations in 2022 to over 60,000 chargers today, and the vehicle-to-charger ratio has improved meaningfully.
The next challenge is not simply adding chargers, but making them available, reliable and strategically located. Highway charging density, grid-connection timelines in dense markets and 24*7 real estate access at high-footfall locations remain key constraints. Ensuring that installed infrastructure is operational and available to consumers is equally important as the network scales.
AET: With Tata Power targeting 10,000 public charging points and 7.5 lakh home chargers by 2030, what will be the key priorities in scaling the network while ensuring accessibility and reliability?
Virendra: Having established a network of over 6,700+ public charging points, more than 2.5 lakh home chargers and over 1,200+ e-bus charging points across 700 cities and towns, our focus is to continue building a charging ecosystem that makes EV adoption simpler, more convenient and more dependable for consumers.
As we scale, accessibility will remain a key priority. Our approach is to ensure that charging infrastructure is available where consumers need it most—along key travel corridors, in high-traffic locations and close to everyday destinations and amenities. We use real-world insights from our network, including traffic patterns, dwell times, local EV density and charging behaviour, to identify locations that can offer greater convenience to EV users. At the same time, we are building high-capacity charging infrastructure at strategic locations to support the growing needs of EV owners.
Reliability is equally important. For an EV owner, finding a charger is only useful if they can rely on it being available and operational when they reach the location. That is why we are strengthening remote monitoring, predictive maintenance and faster fault resolution, while providing accurate, real-time charger availability through the EZ Charge app. Our 24×7 Network Operations Centre (NOC) and call centre provide continuous support for both charging and app-related issues, helping deliver a more seamless charging experience.
We are also continuously enhancing the digital experience on EZ Charge to make charging more intuitive and predictable. Our latest Quick Charge feature enables customers to start a charging session in just three clicks. Features such as Trip Planner help users plan journeys between destinations with charging stops, while Auto Charge enables a more seamless charging experience at compatible chargers. Customers can also use the app to discover offers, identify high-capacity chargers and plan their journeys accordingly. We have also introduced guidance within the app to help users resolve simple issues, such as releasing the emergency-stop button, and get the charger ready for use.
Ultimately, as we work towards our 2030 targets, our priority is not simply to add more charging points, but to create a network that consumers can easily find, confidently use and rely on throughout their EV journey.
AET: How are recent initiatives such as PM E-DRIVE, the Unified Bharat eCharge platform and state-level charging mandates changing the EV charging landscape in India?
Virendra: Every major infrastructure transition in India has benefited from policy evolving alongside the market, and electric mobility is no different. What we are seeing today is a policy environment that is moving beyond simply encouraging EV adoption towards creating the conditions in which the ecosystem can develop and scale. The significance lies not in any single measure, but in the cumulative effect of these interventions each one addressing a different part of the ecosystem, from demand and infrastructure to investment and ease of deployment. Together, they create greater certainty for consumers, businesses and infrastructure providers, allowing the market to build momentum over time.
States have been an important part of this evolution, putting policies and processes in place to encourage EV adoption and charging infrastructure. As more states introduce measures suited to their local needs, these incremental changes are creating a more supportive environment for EVs to develop, invest and scale across the country.
AET: Public charging is growing rapidly, but how important will home and workplace charging be in making EV ownership more convenient, particularly beyond major cities?
Virendra: Home charging is the foundation of everyday EV ownership, while public charging provides confidence for longer journeys. Tata Power’s network reflects this, with 2.5 lakh+ home chargers versus 6,700+ public points.
The opportunity is even larger beyond metros, where public charging density is still developing. For consumers without ample space, particularly apartment complexes, the ecosystem needs EV-ready wiring, dedicated EV parking, simplified load-sharing and clear RWA and builder guidelines. State-level EV-ready building mandates are an important step in this direction.
Workplace and destination charging will also be an important part of this ecosystem, particularly for consumers who may not have access to home charging. We believe workplace charging should be integrated into broader EV adoption initiatives, enabling consumers to conveniently charge their vehicles during their daily routines. Destination charging at locations such as offices, retail spaces, hotels and other frequently visited destinations can further complement public charging infrastructure. Together, these distributed charging options can make EV ownership more convenient and accessible, while supporting the growth of EV adoption across Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets.
AET: Tariffs, land availability, utilisation and connectivity continue to influence the viability of charging infrastructure. What policy or regulatory changes would help accelerate charging deployment?
Virendra: Greater rationality and uniformity in electricity tariffs for public EV charging across states would improve charging economics, while faster, single-window approvals for land and grid connections could help projects come online more quickly, particularly on highways, at high-footfall locations and along emerging corridors. Targeted support to enhance electrical infrastructure along highways for enabling EV charging installations in emerging locations can help bridge the gap until demand builds sufficiently to attract private investment. At the same time, making new residential and commercial developments EV-ready from the design stage would reduce the need for costly retrofits. Getting these fundamentals right would give private players greater confidence to invest and help charging infrastructure scale faster.
AET: Looking ahead to the next 3–5 years, what will India’s EV charging ecosystem need to look like to support the next wave of EV adoption—and where does Tata Power see the biggest opportunity?
Virendra: Concretely, three things need to be true. Charging has to be dense enough that no journey requires extensive planning industry estimates put the requirement at over a million charge points nationally, so the runway ahead of us is enormous. It has to be interoperable by default, where any EV can charge at any point with minimal friction. And it has to be clean, drawing increasingly on renewable energy.
We see the biggest opportunity in three places.
First, the home. It is the largest volume opportunity, and this is where our 7.5 lakh home charger target sits.
Second, highways and corridors. High-power charging across India’s expressway network is what can help an EV move from being primarily a city car to becoming a viable choice for longer journeys and, ultimately, a family’s primary car. We are already present across key highways and intend to deepen our presence considerably.
Third, workplaces. For consumers who may not have access to home charging, the workplace can become an important and convenient part of their charging routine. Integrating charging infrastructure across offices and commercial workplaces can give employees access to reliable charging during the day, complementing both home and public charging. As EV adoption grows, we see workplace charging becoming an increasingly important enabler of everyday EV ownership, particularly in markets where access to home charging is limited.
Together, these three use cases home, highways and workplaces, can create a more accessible and dependable charging ecosystem, giving consumers the confidence to make the transition to electric.
Tata Power’s advantage is that we sit across the whole chain generation, renewables, distribution, home solutions and charging. Very few players can offer a customer a rooftop solar system, a home charger and a national public network as one proposition. That integration is what we intend to build the next phase on. We are also building across the entire charging ecosystem. Our roadmap to 10,000+ public chargers and 7.5 lakh home chargers by 2030 positions us not merely as a charging operator, but as a long-term infrastructure partner in India’s clean mobility transition.
The next five years will be about making EV charging as seamless and dependable as refuelling, and Tata Power intends to play a leading role in enabling that transition across India.
