New Delhi, May 12 -- The heavy industries ministry has cleared disbursal of Rs.503.86 crore for the installation of 4,874 public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations under the flagship PM E-Drive scheme, marking one of the first major infrastructure rollouts aimed at accelerating India's EV adoption and strengthening energy security.

The approvals are part of the government's broader Rs.2,000-crore plan to set up more than 72,000 EV chargers across the country under the Rs.10,900-crore PM E-Drive scheme. Heavy industries minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said on Tuesday that the cleared proposals include those from public sector fuel retailers and several state governments.

Setting up charging infrastructure for EVs is critical to adoption, ...