November 5, 2025

Big news in the electric vehicle world! The Centre has shaken things up for its biggest electric bus tender. Now, not only bus makers but also operators, infrastructure builders, and municipal bodies can jump into the game. This means more players with fresh ideas and resources can join the race to electrify India's roads. This huge tender, announced in June, is for 10,900 electric buses across five buzzing cities: Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Surat, and Ahmedabad. It's part of the massive PM E drive scheme, which has ₹10,900 crore set aside to promote electric vehicles, including two-wheelers, three-wheelers, ambulances, trucks, and the all-important charging infrastructure. Bids for this tender have seen deadline extensions twice, with the newest last chance on November 6. The government is eagerly watching groups like the Adani Group, the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (where the government holds 49%), and even a Canadian pension fund who might enter this thrilling contest. Pre-bid meetings saw at least 6-7 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) showing keen interest. So, why was the Tata Group missing before? A senior official revealed it's because Tata's "too high a load on their balance sheet," but now with the new rules, more companies might jump in. Here's a twist: operators, infrastructure folks, and city bodies can only apply if they team up with OEMs. This partnership helps OEMs gain better access to finance. The tender, handled by Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), covers everything – buying the buses, running them, maintaining them, and setting up related civil and electrical infrastructure. The model used is called Gross Cost Contracting (GCC). This means the city transport agency pays operators a fixed rate per kilometre to handle the buses' operation and upkeep. The exact rates will be decided through the bidding battle. This fresh, inclusive approach could turbo-charge India's electric public transport revolution. After all, who wouldn't want cleaner air and quieter city roads with sleek e-buses buzzing by? The countdown is on till November 6 to see which big names and teams will steer this green transport future!

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Tags: Electric buses, Cesl Tender, Pm e-drive, Electric vehicles, Public Transport Electrification, Infrastructure development,