Prajavartha Online Telugu News
-Catalysing India’s Green Urban Future
-CESL Receives Overwhelming Response for Mega Tender of 10,900 PM e-Buses
-2,800 PM e-Buses Allotted for Delhi;
-PM e-Buses Allotted 2000 for Hyderabad
-Bid Deadline Extended to 6th November 2025
Hyderabad, Neti Patrika Prajavartha :
India’s electric mobility revolution is shifting into top gear. In a decisive step towards achieving the Union Government’s ambitious Net Zero Emissions target by 2070, the National Movement for PM e-Drive and PM e-Bus Sewa has gathered strong nationwide momentum.
The Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) — a Government of India enterprise under the Ministry of Power — has received an overwhelming response to its mega tender for 10,900 electric buses under the Prime Minister’s transformative PM e-Bus Sewa Programme.
The successfulbidder will be allotted depots, the State and then they will create a charging infrastructure.
This tender, covering five major metropolitan cities, represents India’s largest e-bus procurement initiative to date. The pre-bid phase witnessed robust participation from leading domestic and international manufacturers. Following detailed clarifications to pre-bid queries, CESL extended the bid submission deadline to November 2025, with bid opening scheduled for November 6, 2025.
A major allocation of 2,800 PM e-Buses has been earmarked for Delhi, significantly strengthening the national capital’s public transport system and reducing urban emissions. Other key allocations include Bengaluru (4,500), Hyderabad (2,000), and Ahmedabad (1000) and Surat (600).
Driving the Electric Mobility Transition
India’s clean mobility drive is now centred on public transport electrification, where environmental and economic gains are most substantial.
At the forefront of this transformation is CESL, the government’s nodal agency for aggregating demand, standardising procurement, and accelerating nationwide e-bus rollout under the Ministry of Power.
Over the past few years, India’s strong policy thrust—through FAME I & II, the Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme, and the PM e-Drive and PM e-Bus Sewa initiatives—has created a robust framework for sustainable mobility.
With rising pollution levels and congested urban corridors, e-buses are providing a cleaner, quieter, and more cost-efficient alternative to diesel and CNG fleets—helping India cut its carbon footprint while modernising its public transport networks.
Considering as one of the major metropolitan City in the country having huge potentiality for E mobility with population more than one crore, the Union Government has allotted substantial number of 2000 PM e- Buses to Hyderabad.
India’s Largest Electric Bus Procurement Portfolio
Since 2022, CESL has emerged as the country’s most experienced public-sector body in large-scale electric bus tendering and contracting. So far, CESL has awarded 17,838 electric buses under various national programmes:
FAME-II: 3,472 buses
National Electric Bus Programme (NEBP): 6,465 buses
PM e-Bus Sewa: 6,743 buses
City-specific projects (Delhi & Bengaluru): 1,158 buses
This represents one of the worlds the largest public-sector EV procurement portfolios.
PM E-DRIVE: India’s Next Leap Forward
Under the PM E-DRIVE Scheme, CESL has issued a tender for 10,900 e-buses across five major cities — marking the single-largest procurement round yet.
Launched in June 2025, CESL has since conducted extensive consultations with city authorities and bidders to ensure a transparent and inclusive process.
The extended bid deadline of November 6, 2025, allows adequate time for readiness, infrastructure planning, and financial structuring.
Feedback from participating cities has been integrated into the tender, aligning bus types, operational parameters, and depot requirements with local needs.
CESL’s demand aggregation model enables standardisation of specifications, significantly reducing overall costs.
In previous rounds, this approach successfully brought down Gross Cost Contract (GCC) rates below diesel and CNG levels — a remarkable achievement given the higher upfront cost of electric buses.
Ensuring Financial Security and Confidence
To boost investor confidence and ensure timely payments to operators, the Government of India launched the PM e-Bus Sewa Payment Security Mechanism (PSM) in October 2024, with an outlay of ₹3,435 crore.
CESL, under the Ministry of Power, serves as the implementing agency for this fund — ensuring payment reliability and capacity-building support for state transport undertakings.
Additionally, the PM E-DRIVE Scheme earmarks ₹4,391 crore for deploying 14,028 e-buses across nine major cities.
Through demand aggregation and standardisation, CESL is enabling Indian cities to make a decisive leap toward low-carbon, modern public transport.
Driving India’s Green Future
This nationwide e-bus transition will:
Significantly reduce urban carbon emissions
Strengthen India’s EV manufacturing ecosystem
Support Atmanirbhar Bharat through domestic innovation in clean transport
Deliver cleaner air and smarter mobility for millions of commuters
“CESL is leading one of the world’s largest electric bus transitions. By combining policy intent, financial security, and collaborative implementation with states, we are ensuring that India’s public transport becomes cleaner, smarter, and more resilient,” said a CESL spokesperson.
As India moves decisively toward its Net Zero vision, CESL’s leadership in procurement, payment security, and infrastructure planning demonstrates how strong public-sector coordination under the Ministry of Power can drive large-scale change.
The PM e-Bus Sewa and PM E-DRIVE initiatives are not just transforming mobility — they are paving the road to a cleaner, greener, and self-reliant India
