October 19, 2025

PM e-bus Sewa scheme

  • The Union Cabinet recently approved a scheme to add 10,000 e-buses to city bus services across the country, and to shore up urban infrastructure under green mobility initiatives with a focus on cities having no organised bus services.
    • An e-bus is any bus whose propulsion and accessory systems are powered exclusively by a zero-emissions electricity source.
  • The PM e-bus Sewa scheme will have an estimated cost of ₹57,613 crore, of which the Centre will provide ₹20,000 crore.
  • It will support bus operations for 10 years.
  • The scheme will be implemented in two segments-
    • In 169 cities, 10,000 e-buses will be deployed using a public-private partnership (PPP) model; depot infrastructure will also be developed or upgraded to support the new e-buses, including the creation of behind-the-meter power infrastructure like substations.
    • in 181 other cities, infrastructure will be upgraded under the green urban mobility initiatives. In these cities, initiatives will focus on bus priority, infrastructure, multimodal interchange facilities, automated fare collection systems, and charging infrastructure.
  • Cities with a population of three lakh and above will be covered under the scheme, including all the capital cities of Union Territories, and the northeastern and hill States.
  • Around 45,000 to 55,000 direct jobs are expected to be generated via the scheme.
  • States or cities will be responsible for running the bus services and making payments to the bus operators.
    • The Central government will support these bus operations by providing subsidies to the extent specified in the scheme.
  • Benefits
    • This will help reduce noise and air pollution in Indian cities and also curb carbon emissions.
    • This scheme is also expected to bring in economies of scale for the procurement of electric buses through aggregation.
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