Government Enables Digital Payments For EV Charging

The Indian Government has been pushing for digital payments since demonetisation last year. Following the same, the Government has now allowed users to pay digitally for charging their EVs. 

This step has been taken after consulting the Committee for Standardisation of the Protocol for Charging Infrastructure, which submitted the report in May 2017 suggesting the same. This Committee comprises of the Department of Heavy Industry and the Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises to standardise charging infrastructure.

As per the Committee, the owner should be charged per unit of electricity consumed and the payments for charging should be automatically debited from the EV owner’s bank account based on the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). Along with that, the Committee also suggested the introduction of an app to allow users to pay using BHIM or any other digital payment medium specified by the Government.

Apart from payments, the Committee has also laid out standards for EV charging stations which will allow EVs from different manufacturers to be charged at one station. To encourage adaptation of EVs in the country, the Committee has also recommended the Government to set up a vast and widespread charging infrastructure in India.

Currently, according to the figures given by SMEV (Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles), a total of 22,000 EVs were sold in the country during the fiscal year 2015-16. This paints a very clear picture of how people are reluctant to go for EVs considering their known limitations.