Uttar Pradesh’s updated EV Manufacturing and Mobility Policy aims to build dense charging grids, boost adoption and manufacturing, and fully electrify Lucknow’s public transport by 2030.
The state scores above the national average in NITI Aayog’s Electric Mobility Index, yet lags badly in charging readiness and incentives, with limited private EV uptake and slow progress toward its ambitious infrastructure targets.
Uttar Pradesh was among the first states to notify the Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Policy in August 2019. But in view of the rapid changes taking place in the sector, the state government changed this policy and notified the new Uttar Pradesh Electronic Vehicle Manufacturing and Mobility Policy (UP EVMMP 2022) on October 4, 2022. This new policy is to remain in effect till October 2027.
The framework of UP EVMMP 2022 has been built on three pillars. Building charging infrastructure, accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and promoting EV and battery manufacturing in the state. Further, for charging infrastructure, the policy had set a target to develop charging infrastructure in a grid of 3 km by 3 km in cities and every 25 km on expressways and national highways. But all this has not yet come off the ground. The plan is to convert 100 per cent of the public transport system in Lucknow to electric mode by 2030.
India’s largest state has been ranked 10th nationally in NITI Aayog’s India Electric Mobility Index (IEMI) 2024 report, which assesses EV progress in states. Uttar Pradesh, with a score of 47, scores better than the national average score (39). However, the state got 59-59 points in both Transport Electrification Progress and EV Research and Innovation. In terms of Charging Infrastructure Readiness, the state could score only 21 points, the weakest performance among the three categories.
At the indicator level, the state scored a full 100 points in Commercial EV adoption, but the number of private EV adoptions was limited to just 36 points. What is even more worrying is that the state scored a full 100 points in Governance Initiatives, but only 12 in Purchase Incentives and zero in Transition Incentives. Uttar Pradesh has a score of zero in both Capital Subsidies for Charging Infrastructure and Power Availability indicators, while on the EV Startups front, the state has performed relatively strongly, with a score of 79.
Down to Earth (DTE) accessed the compliance document of the CM review meeting held on May 27, 2026. According to it, only about 2,500 EV charging stations are currently operational in Uttar Pradesh, while the government aims to develop 10,000 charging stations in the state by 2030. That is, not even a quarter of these stations have been completed yet.
According to Lucknow’s Comprehensive Electric Mobility Plan (CEMP), about 7,000 public EV charging points will be required by 2030 to meet the growing need for EVs in Lucknow. While 4,039 public chargers were estimated to be needed by 2025, only half (2,500) charging stations were built.
A state official told DTE that under the central government’s PM e-Drive scheme, about 900 locations have been selected and shared with the ministry. Of these, 238 spots in 20 clusters of 10 cities have been approved in the first phase. On these, a total of 714 chargers and 1,800 charging points are to be installed. “So far, a grant of Rs 61.33 crore has been released under this head. Work is going on,” said the official.
According to the compliance document, Lucknow is also among the 10 cities that have been included in the first phase of the central government’s PM e-Drive scheme. A total of 36 charging stations have been approved in 3 clusters, of which 11 fall under “Category-A” (government/central premises, such as offices, hospitals, educational institutions, where free access to the general public is mandatory) and 25 under “Category-B” (government-controlled high-traffic locations, such as railway stations and bus terminals). According to the PM e-DRIVE operational guidelines of the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Category-A sites receive 100 per cent subsidy from the Centre, while Category-B gets a relatively low (80/70 per cent) subsidy.
Meanwhile, charging depots have been built for the charging of e-buses operating in cities. For instance, Lucknow has the main overnight charging depot at Dubagga, while the city has four other Opportunity charging stations.
Raj Kumar Shukla, a conductor who came to charge the e-bus at a similar Opportunity Charging Depot located in Viraj Khand in Gomti Nagar, told DTE that each bus runs for about 200 to 220 km daily, while fast charging of 180 KV fully charges the bus in 45 to 50 minutes.
Shukla said passengers preferred the e-bus and services are almost full. But he also pointed to the plight of human resources and faulty management.
His joining contract noted that he would get Rs 4.70 per kilometre. Shukla though says he gets only Rs Rs 3.70 per kilometre in his wage. Apart from this, salaries are also not being paid on time.
Conductors have also gone on strike in protest. Shukla said the contract to run these e-buses is with SS Enterprises and the target is to fill the entire bus within seven minutes. If this is not achieved, money is deducted from the conductor’s salary.
Another problem facing e-buses is if power supply is interrupted, these charging stations will not be able to work. The operator present at the depot said this problem arises when there is a power cut in the rainy season or in an emergency. Buses then have to be sent to another depot. “For this, continuous power supply is mandatory.”