The central government has approved the PM e-bus seva scheme, Union Minister Anurag said in a Union Cabinet decisions briefing on Wednesday. Under the scheme, the government will allocate Rs 57,613 crore to deploy over 10,000 electric buses across 169 cities in India to push green mobility in the country.
The central government will contribute 20,000 crore out of the afore-mentioned amount while the balance amount will be taken care of by the respective state governments where the EV fleets will be deployed.
The scheme will be carried out using the PPP (public-private partnership) model, under which private players are welcomed to bid for orders. Further, the cabinet said that the centre will provide support to the manufacturers for the initial ten years.
As per Thakur, 100 cities out of the total 169, where the buses will be deployed will be selected by a challenge method and must have over 3 lakh population. Furthermore, the minister added that the states that will scrap the old buses will also benefit from additional supplies.
The PM e-bus Sewa scheme is part of the government's efforts to promote the use of electric vehicles and reduce pollution in the country. It is also expected to create jobs in the manufacturing and operation of electric buses.
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