Metros' snub may force e-bus sops shift to intracity service
The Centre is considering subsidizing nearly 4,000 electric buses for interstate or intracity routes after Chennai, Mumbai, and Kolkata opted out of the PM e-DRIVE scheme. While Delhi awaits 2,800 e-buses pending compliance with scheme norms, the heavy industries ministry has allocated buses to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Surat. Bids for 10,900 e-buses are expected soon.
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
With three metros opting out of the PM e-DRIVE scheme , the Centre may subsidise nearly 4,000 electric buses (e-buses) for use on interstate or intracity routes, a senior official said.The heavy industries ministry received requests for around 10,900 e-buses under PM e-DRIVE, lower than the target of 14,028 e-buses. These buses are meant for large cities to improve their internal public transportation networks."Chennai, Mumbai, and Kolkata have refused to participate for their own reasons," the official told ET, adding that the remaining around 4,000 buses can be considered for intercity, or interstate uses if the Centre doesn't get additional demand from more cities.Both Chennai and Mumbai are said to be planning their own e-bus procurement schemes. Also, the West Bengal government is said to have refused PM e-DRIVE e-buses since it is yet to receive units promised under earlier schemes.While the Delhi government's request has been received, its wait for around 2,800 new e-buses may get a little longer with the state yet to fully comply with PM e-DRIVE scheme norms. The state needs to create a direct debit mandate (DDM) with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which would allow the Centre to recover dues if case of delay in payments to e-bus suppliers.A DDM ensures the Centre is able to pay e-bus suppliers if states or their transport utilities delay releasing funds. Irregular payments had spooked e-buses suppliers, leading to a tepid response in earlier tenders. Under the PM e-DRIVE scheme, the Centre procures e-buses on behalf of states, who then make payments to suppliers."Delhi government has started the process of creating an account with the RBI for facilitating the DDM. They will get e-buses after complying with these norms," the official said.The heavy industries ministry has allocated around 4,500 e-buses for Bengaluru, 2,000 to Hyderabad, 2,800 to Delhi, 1,000 to Ahmedabad, and 600 to Surat under the current phase of the PM e-Drive scheme. Bids for these 10,900 e-buses are expected to be called by the Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), a central government-controlled entity, in a few weeks.The Centre has earmarked ₹ 10,900 crore over a two-year period through March 2026 for deploying e-buses in urban areas.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Bharti Airtel MD writes to banks, NPCI, RBI to join forces against digital frauds; moots collaborative measures
Telecom operator Airtel has approached over 40 banks, as well as RBI and NPCI, proposing a close collaboration and a unified front to curb digital frauds, including sharing intelligence over repository of known fraudulent financial domains. Airtel has dialled NPCI, proposing a "closer collaboration" to create a repository of known malicious financial domains, to enable proactive blocking of malicious and rogue sites and to build a multi-layered defence to combat digital frauds. The Sunil Mittal-led telco has also done a similar outreach with major banks, including SBI, HDFC and others, sources said. The company has also reached out to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for "collaboration" to create a repository of known fraudulent financial domains. Airtel has also favoured regulatory consultations, offering its support to the RBI in building frameworks that hold OTT platforms accountable for consumer safety -- especially in the context of financial communication, according to the letter seen by PTI. It has also mooted joint public education campaigns to raise awareness about evolving digital fraud tactics and safe practices. In a separate letter to NPCI, Airtel said it believes there is a strong potential for a partnership between Airtel and NPCI to further strengthen the security of India's digital payment systems. An email sent to Airtel did not elicit a response. "The NPCI has been at the forefront of securing digital transactions in India, deploying cutting-edge AI/ML-based models that offer an advanced real-time Fraud Risk Monitoring and Management solution (FRM) that generates alerts and allows banks to detect and prevent fraud across all online NPCI products. "Airtel commends this proactive approach and NPCI's efforts in reducing the growing risks of fraud in an increasingly digital financial landscape, where threats are constantly evolving," Gopal Vittal , Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Airtel, said in a communication to Dilip Asbe, MD and CEO, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Informing about the launch of Airtel's fraud detection solution to combat consumer fraud via malicious links, the telco said the solution can significantly complement NPCI's existing fraud monitoring initiatives. By blocking access to malicious websites and phishing links at the point of access, Airtel can help prevent users from unknowingly engaging with fraudulent sites that could compromise their financial data, the telco said. "Additionally, during these programs as well as our overall telco acquisition and experience, we believe that we have strong signals that could lead to identification of potentially fraudulent transactions or users," the Airtel top honcho wrote, adding that the company believes there is strong potential for a partnership between Airtel and NPCI to further strengthen the security of India's digital payment systems. "We propose the following actions to enhance this partnership... Closer collaboration between Airtel and NPCI to create a repository of known fraudulent financial domains, enabling proactive blocking of these malicious sites and creating a multi-layered defence against digital fraud," said the letter dated May 16. Airtel has also pitched for joint awareness campaigns and workshops. The telecom operator proposed that joint awareness campaigns can leverage the combined reach of Airtel and NPCI to educate users on safe online practices, recognising phishing attempts, and staying protected against emerging digital fraud tactics; while the workshops would identify and productise a counter fraud solution -- in the process helping reduce financial frauds in the country. "Through this collaboration, NPCI, Airtel, and the banking sector can collectively create a more robust and resilient framework for reducing fraud and building greater confidence in India's digital financial services. Airtel remains committed to doing its part and would be happy to provide further technical details and explore how we can work together with the NPCI to enhance the security and integrity of India's digital payments ecosystem," Airtel said. In the letter to RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, Vittal lauded the efforts of the Reserve Bank of India in fighting digital fraud, especially the recent initiative to collaborate with regulated entities and the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) on the development of "This powerful AI-based system has already demonstrated its ability to identify mule accounts used to route illicit funds. By analysing user behaviour and transaction patterns, banks can now flag and disable suspicious accounts more efficiently, thereby disrupting fraud at the transactional layer," Vittal wrote. However, Airtel said these systems remain largely reactive, detecting threats after fraudsters are already embedded in the financial ecosystem. "Airtel believes that our fraud detection solution can complement these efforts by stopping fraud at the very first step: the moment a user attempts to access a malicious site," Airtel said. Stating that India's financial system is the cornerstone of national growth, trust, and international standing, Airtel said protecting this system demands collaboration between all stakeholders -- regulators, service providers, and financial institutions alike. "Airtel remains committed to doing its part and would be happy to provide further technical details and explore how we can work together with the RBI in this critical fight against digital fraud," Vittal wrote. Citing the "mounting security risks on OTT platforms", Airtel said achieving SMS-like level of protection on OTT platforms is "impossible" since fraudulent links sent over these platforms are harder to detect and block before they reach users, making OTT channels the weakest link in the fight against online scams. Additionally, the lack of traceability and compliance requirements on OTT apps, such as data sovereignty, data confidentiality, encryption standards, and system access for regulators create serious security concerns. This issue has been further exacerbated by the increasing reliance of financial institutions on OTT (communications) channels for sending transactional and service messages, to sidestep the regulatory requirements governing telecom networks, Airtel said, cautioning that this heightens security vulnerabilities. "In this context, and in light of the ongoing RBI consultation on additional factor authentication (AFA) for digital payments, we wish to emphasise that financial transactions must continue to be conducted over secure telecom networks. Telecom networks offer a level of protection and oversight that OTT platforms currently lack, thereby helping to mitigate fraud risks and enhance overall consumer safety," Vittal said. Sources said the telco has received a favourable response to the collaboration pitch from private and state-owned banks. Earlier, Airtel had also reached out to Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea with a proposal for a joint telecom fraud initiative to unite the industry against rising fraud and scams on telecom networks. In separate letters to the telcos, it had cited data that India recorded over 1.7 million cybercrime complaints in the first nine months of 2024, resulting in financial losses exceeding Rs 11,000 crore. Airtel had urged all telcos to collaborate and collectively address the growing threat of deceptive and malicious scams targeting vulnerable individuals.
United News of India
an hour ago
- United News of India
Maha: Fadnavis releases entrepreneur Dr Chaudhary's book in Pune
Pune, June 8 (UNI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday released Dr Pramod Chaudhary's book, "Pailatiravarun... Tar As Zhaal", which chronicles the latter's entrepreneurial journey. Speaking at the book release ceremony held at auditorium of COEP Technological University, the Chief Minister praised Dr Chaudhary's work in the ethanol sector, describing it as a form of national service by a visionary entrepreneur. He recalled that when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was at the Centre, the initiative to increase the ethanol blending percentage had begun, however, in the midst the Vajpayee government left office, causing the topic to be put on the backburner and delaying the ethanol mission. After the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, the ethanol topic gained momentum again, he said and pointed that Dr Chaudhary reviewed the ethanol policy, provided suggestions that were incorporated into it and since 2017-18, progress has accelerated. He noted that blending 20 percent ethanol with petrol has resulted in savings of over Rs one lakh crore in foreign exchange and informed that ethanol is being used in aviation fuel and predicted that vehicles will run on biofuels in the future. Fadnavis highlighted the potential for creating a policy to make current plastics biodegradable, which could lead to the development of industries based on this technology. He mentioned that Dr Chaudhary had prepared a report on creating a Compressed Biogas (CBG) project using agricultural waste, rice waste and Mahua flower waste in Gadchiroli. The state government would develop a policy to promote the development of the Gadchiroli district based on Dr Chaudhary's report, he added. UNI SP SS
Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
Buy or sell: Ganesh Dongre of Anand Rathi recommends three stocks to buy on Monday — 9 June 2025
Buy or Sell: The Indian benchmark indices snapped a two-week losing streak, posting nearly a 1% gain for the week ended June 6, buoyed by a dual boost from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The central bank delivered a surprise 50 bps cut in the repo rate along with a 100-bps reduction in the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), significantly improving market sentiment. For the week, the BSE Sensex added 737.98 points or 0.9%, closing at 82,188.99, while the Nifty 50 surged 252.35 points to end at 25,003.05. A key driver of this rally was India's robust GDP growth of 7.4% in the January–March quarter of FY 2024–25, beating market expectations and marking the highest quarterly expansion in the past year. Globally, equity markets remained buoyant, supported by signs of easing inflation, which further bolstered investor sentiment in domestic markets. Sectorally, the Realty index led the gains with a nearly 10% surge, while Metal and PSU Bank indices rose around 2% each, reflecting strong broad-based participation. Technically, Nifty continues to consolidate within a well-defined range of 24,500 - 25,200, holding this zone for the past two weeks. The index gained momentum post the RBI announcements and touched the upper band of this range at 25,200, which also coincides with the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement of the recent down move. The previous resistance near 25,200 - 25300 is important level to watch for the next week closing, A sustained close above this level would be significant, potentially opening the door for an upside move toward 25,600 - 26,000 marks, Conversely, a break below 24,500 could indicate a short-term pause or mild correction, especially amidst lingering global uncertainties. The Bank Nifty index reacted sharply to the CRR cut, rallying nearly 800 points intraday and closing the week at a strong 56,500. The index now faces immediate resistance at the 57,000 marks, while key support is placed around 55,000. A decisive move above 57,000 could pave the way for a fresh uptrend toward 58,500, while any dip toward 55,000 is expected to attract buying interest. On a broader time frame, both Nifty and Bank Nifty have ended the week above their respective monthly support levels 23,800 for Nifty and 53,000 for Bank Nifty—signaling sustained bullish sentiment. Long-term structural supports remain at 21,700 for Nifty and 51,500 for Bank Nifty, serving as critical benchmarks for initiating fresh long positions. Traders are advised to keep a close watch on resistance levels at 25,300 (Nifty) and 57,000 (Bank Nifty), while staying vigilant of global developments and geopolitical factors that may sway market direction in the near term. 1. Bharat Forge Ltd (BHARATFORG): Buy at ₹ 1,280 - 1,300; Target Price at ₹ 1,360; Stop Loss at ₹ 1,230. 2. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MAZDOCK): Buy at ₹ 3,390 - 3,410; Target Price at ₹ 3,600; Stop Loss at ₹ 3,325. 3. National Aluminium Company Ltd (NATIONALUM): Buy at ₹ 188 - ₹ 191; Target Price at ₹ 205; Stop Loss at ₹ 174. Disclaimer: The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, not Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
