The ABP LIVE INDIA INFRASTRUCTURE CONCLAVE 2025, East Edition is an iconic event celebrating the transformative journey of infrastructure development in the eastern region of India, with a special focus on West Bengal. This edition aims to spotlight the remarkable advancements in the state’s infrastructure landscape while fostering dialogue and collaboration among policymakers, industry leaders, and innovators.
Below are the excerpts of the speaker Mr. Prem Prakash, CEO, INCHARZ with ABP News anchor Chahat Jain on Electrifying Urban Futures: Accelerating the Adoption of EV Infrastructure in India.
Moderator- I kindly request Mr. Prem Prakash, CEO, Servotech EV Infra Pvt. Ltd. to please join us on stage. Mr. Prem Prakash leads the company in pioneering electric vehicle charging infrastructure & Renewable Energy Solutions in India his focus on Innovation sustainability & efficiency is accelerating EV adoption & promoting a greener and a carbon reduced future. Over to you Chahat.
Chahat- Thank you so much Ankita for introducing our guest to us and moving on the session for EV but before starting the session let’s just see how many people over here actually drive an EV and that is how we will get to know whether hesitancy still exists or doesn’t. How many of you are driving an EV? I can barely see 3 or 4 hands so I think my first question to you would be talking about eastern states talking about north, west, south like I would say the EV hesitancy EV adoption, the adoption of EV hesitancy is still there like do you think it still matters because I can barely see 3 or 4 hands.
Prem Prakash- Yeah, so thank you so much for inviting me and a very good afternoon to all of you. Yes, adoption of EV, you know actually not picking up the way it should have done. I mean if I have to cite an example of our neighbouring country I mean not a right example but Nepal last year got 83%. I mean out of total new vehicles registered in Nepal of those vehicles were EV where in our case it’s less than 8 %.
Chahat- That’s right.
Prem Prakash- But then coming back to your question, I mean if I really come to compare the adoption, the kind of infrastructure available in India in the eastern part of the country. I think west & north, especially the central zone, does better than the eastern part. I can also mean to be very fair to the eastern part in terms of their infrastructure. You know the driving terrains dependency on 2 wheelers or possibly the income strata. I mean you have SSEB & SSEC. I mean mostly available in the eastern part. I mean that part of the country has really not picked up on EV. You know but then there are certain challenges. Its picking up Assam for the last 2-3 months has done a great job. You know though its not a pure eastern part but Arunachal has shown some tremendous growth. Bihar for that matter is number 5 in terms of EV adoption, so if we are able to provide a consistent grid capacity, if we are able to make people aware about how & what EV does for people at large. If we’re really able to bring you know, bring down the cost of ownership of EVs right when I talk about the income strata in the eastern part. I think you know.
Chahat- Then we will probably see a change.
Prem Prakash- Yes
Chahat- You know moving on moving ahead I would say that when you mentioned that you know probably the northern states or the central states are doing much better. Again that is the role of the private players, that is the role of the government in actually removing this hesitancy in telling people in making them aware because of course the government & our country we have our own targets. We have our targets of like 30% the entire fleet should be electric vehicles we have our net zero carbon targets by 2070 then again the onus is on us, us as in private players, the media and also the government to make people aware how EV is not only actually more affordable for them, easier for them, comfortable for them but also good for the planet & our nation.
Prem Prakash- Yeah so I’ll cite an example of how private players are playing an important role.
Chahat- Right
Prem Prakash- Recently there was a, I mean of the Asia’s largest Auto Expo which got concluded last week itself and all the cars almost 20 odd cars were launched and all of them were EVs not even 1 car I mean almost all the cars were EVs not a conventional car that goes on to say that private players are hellbent. They are all focused on you know really making India a country with a lot of EVs at least you know the adoption rate goes up. They are all conscious about the contribution to pollution which the traditional or the conventional vehicles make.
Chahat- That’s right
Prem Prakash- At the same time, you know if you ask me if you’re hinting me towards pointing out certain challenges for private sectors. I’ll talk about my organization, Servotech. I mean we have installed & commissioned 100 stations across the length & breadth of India and you know while working in UP you get electricity connection in flat 2 days, 48 hours single window and you set a station and we take 5 days 5 to 10 days to set up a station and it’s up right I mean live running.
Chahat- And that is done with the help of?
Prem Prakash- I mean the electricity connection obviously would come from the government right. I mean the DISCOMS are so well educated in states like Uttar Pradesh, you know Maharashtra, Karnataka to that I mean for that matter Tamil Nadu, Bihar that you know when you go & apply for an EV meter in such states you have a single window approval, you get a connection in 24 to 48 hours you set up your station but when you go to other states & especially when the eastern part & all and all I mean you know unfortunately the DISCOMS are not even aware about the EV policies which they have. So off late West Bengal & Assam has shown some tremendous positive influence towards the EV policy & I think you know it’s picking up but yes the eastern part is a bit slow comparatively.
Chahat- So we can clearly say that the penetration will again take some time. A lot of our audience are from Kolkata, private players.
Prem Prakash- Yes, I belong to eastern part as well and you know so there are 3 core issues I mean if we are able to address that as private players & government hand to hand so one is there is too much of dependency on 2 wheelers out there.
Chahat- Okay
Prem Prakash- Now if we are making a 4 wheeler.
Chahat- So there is a major reason behind it.
Prem Prakash- One reason of the reasons so if we are able to actually make you know the public transport EVs if we are able to make all these cars & all very much affordable.
Chahat- Right
Prem Prakash- There are possibilities that the penetration would go up. The second element is that the grid capacity is very inconsistent in the eastern part. Now that directly impacts your EV charging station I mean a 60 Kw charger if it is installed & if it is not getting the consistent power supply there is a problem & the third element is baring Bihar, West Bengal & Assam not many states are really focusing on you know aligning their EV policies with the Central government and that is where you know private player like us when we go to I mean same state with different DISCOM they have rates, different mechanism & all but when you go to a state like UP and you go to any DISCOM for that matter UP would have some 5 DISCOMS. You have the similar form, similar mechanism, you know a very very seamless kind of procedure right. You apply & you get connections in 48 hours. So I think all these 3 aspect which is one supply of power, second is you know bringing down the cost of ownership of a vehicle & third making people aware about how the EV is actually adding value to you know the climate change is going to help us.
Chahat- And it’s more affordable as well but you know you just mentioned that people most of the people have 2 wheelers but again I would like to say that there are a lot of 2 EVs 2 wheelers as well right available in the market easily, it’s very accessible and they are more affordable than EV cars. So driving a 2 wheeler doesn’t stop you from owning an EV and it could be an electric 2 wheeler vehicle as well & there are ample of options available in the market right now. So it’s just that people have to stop adopting it, people should have the right knowledge for it & also the infrastructure should be easily available for their daily commute. That is what actually is required nothing else.
Prem Prakash- Yes, you are absolutely right I mean when actually talk about 2 wheelers you know the quantum matters and of course I mean the eastern part is picking up in EV 2 wheelers where they you know they charge their vehicle overnight at their place itself. So you know technically if you say its not an EV infrastructure you are taking your you know residential power point wherein you know the 15 amp plug you are charging your vehicle but then that adds to the climate change. I mean that is a commendable thing which is happening in the eastern part as well. Yeah you are absolutely right but when we really take you know a holistic approach the 4 wheelers, the heavy vehicles, those loaders which are causing maximum pollution you know & hampering the climate and when we talk about infrastructure it should be available for any & vehicle available out there & that is where we see a little bit of challenge in few of the states.
Chahat- I’m pretty sure that Servotech as in you as a private player would also be thinking of having your own projects in the eastern states. Do you have any or planning to have any & what are your targets for those states like do you have any specific strategy looking at the demography, topography, population.
Prem Prakash- Yeah, so as an organization we have already done more than 8000 stations, 100 stations in this year pan India yes and eastern part we have done certain stations you know we are setting up a station that is directly aligned with a kind of vehicle getting registered in those areas. We have certain big projects coming up, we are in talks with various state governments in the eastern part as well. It’s there in the pipeline; it’s not been announced so far. Yes, there are certain projects which we are doing in the eastern part of India and if we really cross the border of the eastern part of India very soon, we are going to announce a mega project in Nepal as well since you know it comes with a lot of opportunity. So, yes we’re actually thinking of penetrating deep into the eastern part & few of the states would be like Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Assam. This is what we’re targeting.
Chahat- You know, I think it would be not correct if we do not mention, if we do not talk about India as a player in the global market when it comes to EV. So we also have to probably differentiate ourselves, our country, our neighbouring countries like where do we stand.
Prem Prakash- So there are few examples and I’m sure the audience would be keen about it. Yes, so I’ll give you a few examples. We as an organization I mean we have reduced our charger price I mean we are primarily into manufacturing of chargers & setting up a station. Our charger price in the last 2 years have dropped by 56% & that has been possibly only when we started paying attention to having indigenously built components. So it’s our reliance on you know imports for components to manufacture EV chargers have dropped drastically. I mean 76% of the components which we are using to manufacture those chargers are India built. I mean we also support the Make In India concept of our honourable Prime Minister. So we are going to be the EV capital of the world, you know Nepal has been buying electric vehicles from India for a long. They’ve reduced the duties & taxes on buying EVs. They have increased the taxes to 283% on conventional vehicles & of course I mean the way we rule the world, IT world we are going to rule the EV world as well & you know it’s a myth that one of our neighbouring country produces the cheapest component for EV. India has actually you know has started catching up to that particular trend and we have started producing a lot components from charger point of view or automobile point of view and we’re going to be the world’s EV capital.
Chahat- You know here I would like to actually ask people as in people as in the buyers or people who actually drive an EV or people who are thinking of that what actually stops them from buying an EV because in my personal experience also till the time I did not have it. I did not know much about it so once I had it at my place it was so easy to use plus it’s so affordable. I think people must not be knowing it.
Prem Prakash- Yeah
Chahat- So anyone in the audience who’s probably thinking of buying an EV but some second thoughts coming in the mind you have an expert over here, they can actually answer your question for you. Can we have a question from the audience anyone has a question already.
Audience- Hi, good afternoon my question is there are 2 aspects to buying an EV that’s number 1 the initial cost & number 2 is the availability of a charging point. I travel quite often from Delhi to Muradabad and I don’t have any charging point in between. That’s about a distance of 200 kms. So unless you’ve the infrastructure for the electric vehicle to be charged on the way, that’s where the constraint is. So what plans do you have for having an infrastructure all around & how do you reduce the cost because if you compare the cost of an EV as compared to an ICE engine it’s nearly I think 1.7 times or 1.8 times. So initially if you’re taking that much of a cost so where does the economics work out?
Prem Prakash- Yeah, so it’s a fantastic question. I mean generally, we face such questions from all our prospective customers & respondents to various initiatives which we have taken: (a) if you take a 10-year horizon even today when you know owning an EV is very costly fair. Your overall cost of operations comes to 1 rupee/km if you own an EV. If you do a simple maths initially it’s very high but later on for a 10 years or 15 years horizon and especially when it emits you know lowest emission & almost zero you know tailpipe emission. EVs are not going to get expire, you know like you know your diesel or petrol vehicle for 15 years 10 years not. So one aspect is if you are looking at the long-term horizon, EV gives you 1 rupee/km kind of cost of operation. Now coming back to your point & you are absolutely right sir, you know having infrastructure at various places is very important but that beats the range anxiety that a customer would have or a prospective customer would have. Trust me you know in the last 6-8 months & I’m representing my organisation we have more than 100 stations installed, 8000 small stations installed you know across the length & breadth of India, and how the government of India is helping us is NITI AAYOG has earmarked various prominent highways & state highways and if you talk about any highway or state highway even within 30 kms radius you should be finding a particular EV charging station since you talked about Delhi to Muradabad, let me tell you if you search on Google if you’re travelling from Delhi to Muradabad, you’ll find 3 charging stations of my brand call Incharz within that particular highway, rapidly which we are actually catering to all the highways & state highways and you know within next 6 to 8 months you would find that there’ll 1 charging station of you know any of the brands available in India within 3 km radius when you’re driving on any of the major roads. So there are 2 aspects. There are few organizations which are helping which are actually focusing on having charging stations in front of a residential or commercial complex. There are many which are facing, which are actually focusing on having stations on major roads. So there are difference of opinion with respect to organisation strategy but 6 to 8 months & you would not find a range anxiety ever, (a) because the automobile companies are manufacturing you know batteries which can take you to 400-500 kms in 1 charge, (b) because the company like Servotech we are actually you know pointing certain locations where there is high traffic for EV & we’re expecting high traffic in future. So we’re going to eliminate range anxiety in the next 6 to 8 months for sure.
Chahat- But you know I would actually second that because even though I drive an EV & I’ve kept that car only to drive from Delhi, Noida, and Gurgaon. Otherwise, even today I don’t think I would be able to take it ahead. But again yes coming back to the point he said that initial cost is higher but sir trust me the initial cost would only look higher in the initial stage once you would be having an electricity bill of Rs.2500 or maximum Rs.3000/per month you would be thanking yourself for making that decision. On a personal note, I was spending approx 18 to 20000 on petrol every month & now I’m hardly spending 2500 to 3000. So that initial cost looks big or challenging only in the initial phase but then every month you’ll only thank yourself but again infrastructure when that is ready then I think that is when people would have their hesitancy removed all by themselves and we will be seeing EVs everywhere.
Prem Prakash- Yeah, I agree
Chahat- Well thank you so much sir, unfortunately our time is up. I think the minister is already here & we would be having Shri Nitin Gadhkari. I think there’s one quick question sir, really quick question. Yes
Audience- What’s been done by private players to get the price of batteries made more affordable and what’s been done to increase its life and range?
Prem Prakash- Yes, I mean what you’re saying is absolutely right. There are certain policies that have been framed that are the only challenge of the EV Industry. I mean if you ask me for the manufacturers of those batteries.
Chahat- Disposal of batteries, its also hazardous for the environment.
Prem Prakash- Yes, right. So that is the only challenge there are a lot of policies being framed, can we reuse it, can it be recycled & all. That is a question which needs to be answered by our industry for sure.
Chahat- And also the cost of the battery. People have a misconception that the battery needs to be changed after every 3 or 4 years. But actually that is not true. It has a lifespan of about 7 to 8 years.
Prem Prakash- See the battery technology is evolving. I mean now there are batteries which work for 10 years as well. Now blade technologies are coming in. I mean you know everyday the battery technology is evolving & I think that can be addressed because technology plays an important role & all the manufacturers are working towards it. So battery problem & all I mean all these apprehensions would be addressed & last thing if you don’t mind I mean this range anxiety to me looks like a myth nowadays because if you see all the buses which are plying from Delhi to Dehradun, Delhi to Chandigarh & all the electric buses and they don’t have their dedicated station I mean you can charge your cars as well on those stations right. So if we start thinking beyond Delhi to Noida or beyond our vegetable markets & if we take EV as our first car probably the penetration would improve. So we as citizens should also be thinking on those lines and we are doing better than how the CNG actually you know transformed in India. We’re doing. I mean EVs are doing better than CNG rate of, I mean adoption in India. So I think we should look beyond those anxieties. In 500 kms you will get max to max 50 EV stations on the roads wherever you go. So if we talk about the urban infrastructure, even as I’m talking about today, you would find some 10 to 15 charging stations if you travel 500 kms from Delhi anywhere. I mean you would find in the dense forest of Sariska you would find 10 stations of various brands. So EV stations are there. We have to look beyond you know what we think it’s not available.
Chahat- I’ve just got a brilliant business idea, but I’m not going to share it in public. Whoever wants to have it just meet me outside at the coffee shop. Well thank you so much sir & over to you Ankita.
Prem Prakash- Thank you so much
Moderator- Thank you so much. Thank you. Well I kindly request sir please stay for a bit and may I now request Mr. Samvrit Bhattacharya, National Sales Director, ABP Network to felicitate our guest. Can we have a big round of applause everyone.
The demand for EVs is constantly growing and so is the necessity for creating a strong EV charging infrastructure to...
