India approves $7 bln plan for electric buses in nearly 170 cities (updated)

Jbm Auto

16/08/2023 11:41

(Adds details in 3, 6, 7)
       NEW DELHI, Aug 16 (Reuters) - India approved plans on
Wednesday to deploy 10,000 electric buses in 169 cities, along
with charging and associated infrastructure facilities, at an
estimated cost of nearly 580 billion rupees ($7 billion) for a
decade. 
    The federal government will fund 200 billion rupees ($2.4
billion) of the cost of the scheme, based on a public-private
partnership model, but it was not immediately clear if funds for
the rest would come from state governments or private companies.
  
    Shares of companies that investors expect to benefit from
the plan rose after the news. Electric bus makers Olectra
Greentech  OLEC.NS  and JBM Auto  JBMA.NS  closed up 8.8% and
10.1% respectively.
    Tata Motors  TAMO.NS  finished up 1.9%, while Ashok Leyland,
which has a unit making electric buses, jumped 2.5% before
settling up 0.9%.
    Pursuing plans for a fleet of 50,000 electric buses
nationwide in the next few years, at an estimated cost of $12
billion, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been
aggregating demand from state governments and issuing contracts
or tenders inviting bids from companies.
    The cabinet also approved seven railway tracking projects
worth 325 billion rupees ($3.9 billion) to boost connectivity
and mobility across nine states.
($1=83.2554 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Blassy Boben; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil and
Clarence Fernandez)
 ((blassy.boben@thomsonreuters.com;))