PM e-DRIVE scheme not necessary for Tamil Nadu: Transport Minister Sivasankar

Tamil Nadu Transport Minister S.S. Sivasankar, on Tuesday (September 2, 2025), said the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM e-DRIVE) scheme was not necessary for the State.

Tamil Nadu government would procure and operate electric buses, he stressed while addressing a press conference in the Secretariat in Chennai along with Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu and Higher Education Minister Govi. Chezhiaan. “If they [the Centre] are coming inside, they will slowly dump it on our heads. They will initially call it ‘PM e-DRIVE’ but it will be [tantamount to] keeping their name with our investment, So, it is not necessary,” Mr. Sivasankar said.

According to him, the Tamil Nadu government has been procuring sufficient number of electric buses and operating them with its own funds. The Minister was responding to a query on PM e-DRIVE and how many States were implementing them and whether Tamil Nadu received any funds under the scheme.

On monthly electricity billing

To another query on whether the announcement for calculating the electricity charge every month and not bi-monthly would be implemented this year, Mr. Sivasankar (also holding the electricity portfolio) said, “Steps are being undertaken to install smart meters. Once they are installed, it will be easy to bring it into force.”

When asked about its status, Mr. Sivasankar said tender process was on in this regard and work would commence after that. Replying to a query on whether smart meters would be installed for all consumers, the Minister clarified smart meters would not cover connections receiving free electricity from the government but would cover other connections.