NEW DELHI: India is considering setting up dedicated control and command centres for electric vehicles (EVs) on access-controlled expressways, offering services such as real-time roadside assistance, charging points, and technical support to ease range anxiety and enable long-distance travel, two officials aware of the matter said.
The proposed centres—EV Roadside Assistance (RSA) and On-Road Services (ORS) hubs—are expected to operate in a public-private partnership (PPP) mode with vehicle manufacturers, fleet operators and private service providers, the two officials cited earlier said on the condition of anonymity.
“These facilities could offer traveller-centric services for individual EV users as well as technical and maintenance support for commercial fleets,” said the first official.
The ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) is examining changes to its guidelines for way-side amenities (WSAs) on expressways to formally include EV-focused infrastructure, including rapid diagnostics, minor repairs, battery support, towing and real-time assistance through integrated control centres, the second official said, adding that the under-construction 1,300-km Delhi–Mumbai Expressway is likely to be the first long-distance corridor where the model could be rolled out, providing an end-to-end EV-supportive route between two major metropolitan regions.
“The idea is to move beyond charging points and create a full ecosystem that supports EV users on highways, similar to how air traffic control and ground handling work together in aviation,” said the first official. “Control and command centres can coordinate roadside assistance, track vehicle issues, manage response times and offer confidence to EV users undertaking intercity travel.”
Queries emailed to MoRTH, National Highways Authority of India, and EV makers Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai, Kia, and JSW MG on 31 December remained unanswered.
Since the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is an access-controlled expressway, a commuter expects the EV charging infrastructure along the route for convenience, said Ashish Modani, senior vice-president and group head, Icra. "Given higher upfront cost for setting up charging infrastructure and relatively low but increasing EV population, some financial support/incentive will be required from government to make these charging Infrastructure projects commercially viable under PPP," he said.
The development assumes significance given that India has lined up an ambitious plan to spend ₹20 trillion to build 50,000km of access-controlled highways and expressways by 2047.
The move is also crucial as EV penetration continues to rise but remains largely urban-centric. Around 5% of all four-wheelers in India were electric in 2025, and more than two million EVs were sold during the year, according to industry estimates. However, fear of running out of charge mid-journey—commonly referred to as range anxiety—continues to discourage EV owners from using their vehicles for long-distance travel.
India has about 5,100km of access-controlled expressways, of which more than 2,000km is operational, the ministry of road transport and highways told the Lok Sabha in July 2025.
Under the proposed PPP model, private players would be allowed to operate RSA and ORS services as a viable business, offering B2C (business-to-consumer) services for individual travellers and B2B (business-to-business) solutions for fleets and automakers, the officials said. This could include subscription-based assistance, data-driven predictive maintenance, and integration with vehicle telematics systems.
The officials said the government is also exploring the use of datasets to define “ease of living” indicators for EV users on highways, including response times, service availability and corridor-readiness. Opening this segment to private participation could mirror the transformation seen in the aviation sector, where private operators play a key role in airport services under regulatory oversight.
Beyond the Delhi-Mumbai corridor, MoRTH plans to extend the model to other expressways and national highways connecting major metropolitan clusters, where EV penetration is relatively higher. Linking such cities through EV-ready corridors is seen as a critical step in taking electric mobility beyond daily urban commutes.
Industry executives say that combining charging infrastructure with assured technical support could be a game changer. “Charging stations alone do not solve the confidence gap for long-distance EV travel. A reliable service and support backbone is equally important,” said an official at an EV manufacturer, requesting not to be identified.
The revamp of WSA guidelines and the introduction of EV-focused control units could mark a shift in India’s highway planning—from fuel-agnostic infrastructure to mobility ecosystems designed for the electric era.
This proposal comes at a time when India is looking to scale up its EV charging infrastructure, with about 29,000 public chargers and about 3,500 battery swapping stations already existing on roads and highways. Under the PM E-Drive scheme to promote electric mobility in the country, the government has allocated ₹2,000 crore for covering a major share of the upstream costs—grid connections, land, etc.—of setting up charging stations and battery swapping stations.