Centre To Develop Master App For EV Charging Slots: Report As per the report, the project is being funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and will be fully owned and operated by the government of India
By Teena Jose
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The Centre plans to develop a master app to check the real-time availability of electric vehicles (EVs) charging slots nearby on a map in order to boost adoption, according to an ET report.
On June 7 NITI Aayog held a stakeholders meeting with companies operating public EV chargers. According to the people who participated in the meeting, they discussed the apps as well as possible plans for a beta version in the next few weeks.
Reportedly, the project is being funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and will be fully owned and operated by the government of India. The users can discover the nearest charging station, book a slot in advance and make payments. Currently, charging stations are operated by different companies, and all have different dedicated apps. The users are required to download each app to know about the availability of slots, as these apps are not interoperable.
It further added that the users will not be required to pay a membership fee on the master app to book a slot. Moreover, they will be allowed to pay money through UPI using the wallet on the app.
The discussion regarding the master app came a year ago. Previously, the reports had stated that Convergence Energy Services (CESL), a green energy-focused venture of the EESL Group owned by central public sector undertakings under the Ministry of Power, New and Renewable Energy has already begun the process of collating information from the private sector experts which would aid in the development of the super app.
As per the plan of action, the app would also give details about the charger types and charging tariffs, letting the end user make or cancel reservations at the stations.
According to data from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, as on May 5, 7,2013 public charging stations are operating in the country. Under phase II of the FAME India scheme, INR 1,000 crore has been allocated to develop charging infrastructure. In addition, the statistics suggest that the Centre has sanctioned 2,877 EV charging stations in 68 cities across 25 states and Union territories. Also, 1,576 charging stations on nine expressways and 16 highways have been sanctioned under FAME phase II.
