New Delhi, Nov. 10 -- The ministry of heavy industries (MHI) is considering allocating 1,000 electric buses to Mumbai, 800 to Pune, and another 800 to Hyderabad in the second phase of the Rs.10,900-crore PM E-Drive scheme, according to two people aware of the development. Mint earlier reported that Maharashtra's two most populous cities - Mumbai and Pune - would be beneficiaries of the second phase of the scheme's tender, after Maharashtra fulfilled payment security conditions in September. Now, the Centre is considering these allocations after the state government requested 1,500 e-buses for Mumbai and 1,000 for Pune under the scheme. "The state government (of Maharashtra) had sought 1,500 e-buses for Mumbai and 1,000 for Pune earlier. But now, after evaluation, there is a consideration for 1,000 buses to Mumbai and 800 to Pune," said the first of the two persons cited above, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity. Earlier, the Maharashtra government had not fulfilled the scheme's payment security demand, but now that it has done the needful, the next set of buses will go to Mumbai and Pune, said the second person. Queries emailed to the heavy industries ministry and to state transport officials of Maharashtra and Telangana on 6 November remained unanswered. Under the PM E-Drive scheme that was launched in 2024, the government aims to reduce the cost of procuring and operating 14,028 electric buses in nine cities with populations over 4 million - Delhi, Surat, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, and Chennai. The second phase of PM E-Drive tenders will follow the first for 10,900 e-buses in five cities - Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Surat - that has been delayed by at least three months. "Substituting diesel buses with electric ones will reduce vehicular emissions by a significant amount. Buses run continuously for long periods, compared to personal cars or 2Ws (two-wheelers), which only run for shorter periods in the day. So, with electric buses, you end up reducing a larger volume of emissions," said Ashim Sharma, senior partner and business unit head, Nomura Research Institute (NRI) Solutions and Consulting. Key challenges to deploying e-buses in states are inadequate charging infrastructure, especially in depots, as well as the high costs and stringent conditions for bus manufacturers to participate in these tenders, Mint reported earlier on 22 October. "Putting these many e-buses on roads requires thorough planning. This includes planning for depots, chargers, and even designated lanes in some cases to make bus travel faster," said Sharma. The PM E-Drive scheme is linked to the government's PM E-bus Sewa Payment Security Mechanism (PSM), under which states have to furnish a deposit with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to be eligible for sops for e-buses under the PM E-Drive scheme....