New Delhi: India’s electric-bus rollout under two central government schemes is nearing completion, with Karnataka, Maharashtra and Delhi accounting for the largest share of allocations, while Uttar Pradesh received no buses and Bihar was allotted 400, according to parliamentary data analysed by Mint.
As much as 98% of the buses planned under the PM E-Drive and PM E-bus Sewa programmes have now been tendered, the data showed, effectively bringing the government’s push to electrify state-run bus fleets into its final phase and shaping how electric buses will enter urban transport over the next decade under long-term contracts.
Data on the by the ministry of heavy industries and the PM E-bus Sewa by the ministry of housing and urban affairs showed Karnataka (5,250 e-buses), Maharashtra (4,109 e-buses), and Delhi (2,800 e-buses) leading the chart.
The country’s most populous state Uttar Pradesh did not win any buses under the schemes while Bihar won only 400 buses. The contribution of these states is important to note given their large population and high dependence on public transport.
Meanwhile, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu all have received only 50 e-buses each, with Ladakh receiving 48, and Andaman & Nicobar getting 45, the data showed.
Tenders under these central schemes assume importance as these state-run buses will ply on Indian roads for at least the next decade, since these are long-term contracts. The first PM E-Drive tender for 10,900 e-buses closed in November 2025, while the second for 2,900 e-buses closed in April this year.
With procurement largely complete, the spotlight now shifts to ensuring these buses operate at full capacity safely for the 10–12 year duration of these long-term contracts, according to domain experts.
Shyamasis Das, who heads the electric mobility research vertical at New Delhi-based think tank Centre for Social and Economic Progress, said the next step is ensuring that these buses do not run empty, and people choose public transportation over private vehicles.
“This can be done by effective route planning, as many existing routes are based on old commuter data. The patterns of origin-to-destination (OTD) should cater to demand of consumers, along with ensuring that different modes of public transport complement each other,” he said.
Queries emailed to the union ministries of heavy industries and housing and urban affairs, and state transport departments of Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Delhi as well as other states on 20 May remained unanswered.
The funding structure is also shaping how the transition unfolds. PM E-Drive scheme provides an upfront subsidy of 20-35% of the cost of an e-bus, while the PM E-bus Sewa covers a significant portion of the per-kilometre operating cost of each bus, based on its size.
The ministry of heavy industries said in March that 6,228 e-buses under the PM E-bus Sewa scheme had been tendered in a written parliamentary response. Another 3,604 e-buses will be tendered by 5 June this year under the PM E-bus Sewa scheme, according to a tender floated by the government’s clean energy agency Convergence Energy Services Ltd.
E-bus manufacturing incumbents Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland have lost footing in the tenders under these two central government schemes, which has been taken up by relatively new manufacturers such as Pune-based EKA Mobility and Gurugram-based PMI Electro, Mint reported on 13 May.
The Centre is turning to its next phase of electric mobility support, focusing on reducing the upfront cost of privately-run electric buses and trucks.
Heavy industries minister H D Kumaraswamy held consultations with e-bus and , operators, financiers and industry bodies on 20 May to identify rollout challenges, according to a ministry statement.
The ministry said on 29 April that it was working on a scheme to improve financing for private operators through loan guarantees and interest subvention, as electric buses and trucks cost about 2–2.5x more than diesel counterparts.
Mint reported first on 4 January that such a scheme was in the works, and could be launched in the next 6-12 months.
“Support for private sector fleets, including school and institutional buses, can help accelerate electric bus adoption in India, deliver significant air quality and climate benefits, and reduce dependence on fossil fuels,” said Amit Bhatt, India managing director of the International Council on Clean Transportation, a global think tank.
Even as in India rose 37% year-on-year to 5,356 units in FY26, a crucial hurdle in the rollout of these buses was the lack of infrastructure readiness, particularly unpreparedness for e-bus chargers at depots.
Mint reported earlier in November 2025 that the country’s largest ever e-bus tender of 10,900 buses under the PM E-Drive scheme was delayed due to lack of necessary infrastructure at bus depots.
The last leg of India’s ongoing central government e-bus push comes at a time when the total cost of owning a diesel bus and an electric bus has already reached parity, provided that electric buses run 150 km every day, according to a report by consultancy firm KPMG in May 2026. This distance will be lowered to 120 km as battery prices fall and petroleum-based fuel prices rise, the report said.
