EV charger benchmark costs halved, fast chargers gain policy focus
The ministry of heavy industries, in consultation with the ministry of power, has slashed the costs of these EV chargers, also known as EV supply equipment (EVSE), from the earlier 2022 benchmarks. Earlier, a 50kW charger cost ₹7.28 lakh, while the new benchmark for a 60kW charger is ₹3.4 lakh.
NEW DELHI: India has more than halved the benchmark prices of public electric vehicle (EV) chargers and enhanced their charging capacity, in a move aimed at expanding green mobility and enabling longer driving ranges across the country, two people aware of the matter said.
EV charging point operators said that this sharp reduction in the benchmark cost could also lower subsidy claims. This is expected to ease the overall fiscal burden on the government while accelerating the pace of charger deployment.
The ministry of heavy industries (MHI), in consultation with the ministry of power, has slashed the costs of these EV chargers, also known as EV supply equipment (EVSE), from the earlier 2022 benchmarks. Earlier, a 50-kilowatt (kW) charger cost ₹7.28 lakh, while the new benchmark for a 60kW charger is ₹3.4 lakh.
Experts say that the reduction in charger costs reflects India's maturing EV market.
“The revision in the government's benchmark costs reflects the growing scale and maturity of India’s EV charging market. As deployments move from pilots to large, programmatic roll-outs under schemes like PM E-Drive, economies of scale, standardization, and increased competition are bringing down charger hardware costs," said Amit Bhatt, India managing director of International Council for Clean Transportation (ICCT), a global think-tank.
While the 2022 benchmark cost for a 100kW charger was ₹11.28 lakh, the new benchmark for a 120kW charger is ₹5 lakh, according to a publicly available document published by the ministry of heavy industries.
The government uses the benchmark cost of a charger as the basis for subsidy disbursement, which in some cases can cover the entire cost of the charger.
State-run fuel retailers such as Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL), along with private companies like Reliance BP Mobility Ltd are some of the country's large charge point operators. These subsidies are disbursed from the ₹2,000 crore allocation for EV charging infrastructure under the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-Drive) scheme.
The 2022 benchmarks were only for 50kW and 100kW chargers, but the new benchmark costs are for chargers of 12kW, 60kW, 120kW, 240kW and 360kW.
A higher-kW charger delivers more energy to a vehicle’s battery in a shorter span of time.
Queries emailed to the ministries of power and heavy industries, as well as to IOCL, HPCL, BPCL, and Reliance BP Mobility remained unanswered.
India currently has about 29,200 electric vehicle public charging stations (EVPCS). Nearly one-fifth of the ₹10,900-crore PM E-Drive scheme has been earmarked to add 22,100 charging points for electric cars, 48,400 for two- and three-wheelers, and 1,800 for electric trucks and buses.
With EVs accounting for around 60% of three-wheeler sales, 6% of two-wheelers and about 4.8% of car sales in 2025, companies are betting aggressively on India’s public EV charging market.
Charger manufacturers say prices have declined over the years, helped by wider deployment and scale, but not to the extent implied by the government’s newly announced benchmark prices. India’s EV adoption, that is, share of EVs among all new vehicles sold has risen from about 4.7% in calendar year 2022 to 8% in CY2025.
“EV adoption is really increasing at a very high pace, which has led to better utilization of charging infrastructure, and greater demand for charging infrastructure, leading to a drop in the prices in the global market. However, EVSE prices have not reached the levels stated in the government’s benchmark prices, because some parts are still imported, attracting duties and raising costs," said Manasvi Sharma, chief executive officer (CEO) of Everta, an EVSE manufacturer.
Charge point operators (CPOs) that can claim incentives under the PM E-Drive scheme have concerns about the drop in benchmark costs. They acquire land, power connection from the grid, and set up the upstream infrastructure for EVSE.
“Benchmarking EVSE prices will only lead to CPOs paying more and not being able to claim subsidies for the full acquisition cost," said Abhijeet Sinha, president of the Charge Point Operators Society of India, an industry association.
Most of India’s public chargers are not fast chargers due to high costs and limited access to the power grid. The International Energy Agency’s Global EV Outlook 2025 underscores that fast chargers deliver far more energy per day than slow chargers, enabling them to serve more vehicles and support long-distance mobility.
“What India needs is EV chargers which have a high uptime, and that is only possible when the quality of this asset is maintained. We do not follow the lowest-bidder method to procure EV chargers, and instead follow a merit-based approach where we only buy those chargers with high uptime benchmarks instead of following cost benchmarks. An approach where the government states the subsidy for different power types of chargers would be recommended, instead of benchmarking costs," Sinha said.
As of 27 January, the government hasn't disbursed any subsidy from the ₹2,000 crore allocated under the PM E-Drive scheme for setting up public charging stations.
Under the scheme’s guidelines, subsidies are provided for installing public EV chargers in four categories: central or state government premises; government- or PSU (public sector undertaking)-owned locations in cities and on highways; privately-owned locations in cities and on highways; and battery swapping and charging stations.
The government gives full subsidy to cover both upstream infrastructure, which includes electrical and civil works required bring power to the charger, and EV supply equipment (EVSE) costs at central and state government premises. At government- or PSU-owned locations in cities and on highways, it subsidises 80% of upstream costs and 70% of EVSE costs. For all other locations, there is no subsidy for EVSE.
“EV charger localization in India is progressing but remains uneven. A significant share of localization is already achievable for AC and lower-power DC chargers, while high-power fast chargers continue to face greater challenges due to reliance on imported power modules and semiconductors. Stable public procurement under schemes like PM E-Drive can help deepen domestic manufacturing," said Bhatt of ICCT.
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