Government’s New EV Charging App to Ensure Privacy by Using Aggregated Data, Avoiding Personal and Transaction Details
India’s upcoming unified electric vehicle (EV) charging app will emphasize data privacy by avoiding the collection of personal user information, even as it analyses charging patterns to improve services. Officials confirmed that the app will rely on aggregated and anonymized data rather than storing individual user or transaction details.
The platform is being developed by the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) in partnership with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the maker of UPI. It aims to provide a single hub for EV owners to locate charging stations, reserve slots, and make digital payments.
Focus on Privacy-First Approach
Concerns regarding data privacy and cybersecurity were highlighted during recent stakeholder discussions that involved ministry representatives, BHEL officials, automakers, and charge-point operators.
“There are plans to onboard all charge-point operators to provide consumers with a complete nationwide layout of public charging facilities. A clear principle has been set—no individual user data will be collected,” said one senior official involved in the project.
Another government representative confirmed a broad consensus among developers and infrastructure providers that storing personal data is unnecessary and will be avoided.
This approach aligns with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act) passed in 2023, which empowers users to control how their personal data is used and places the responsibility on businesses to obtain explicit consent. The government, however, is yet to notify detailed rules under the Act.
Infrastructure Insights Without Personal Data
Industry experts note that anonymized, aggregated data is sufficient to monitor EV charging performance.
“By analyzing aggregated charger data, authorities can assess uptime, downtime, and utilization rates for each station. This provides a geographic map of demand and a clear picture of infrastructure performance—without compromising individual privacy,” explained Sharif Qamar, Associate Director of Transport and Urban Governance at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
However, Qamar cautioned that the unified app must incorporate robust cybersecurity protocols to protect any data it does handle.
Anticipating EV Market Growth
The launch of this app comes amid expectations of massive EV adoption in India. Policy think tank Niti Aayog projects a 49% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the sector by 2030.
EV sales in India rose 17% year-on-year to 1.9 million units in FY25, up from 1.6 million units in FY24. While adoption is accelerating, charging infrastructure remains a critical bottleneck.
As of 1 August 2025, India had only 29,277 public charging stations, according to data from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency shared by the Ministry of Heavy Industries in Parliament. In comparison, the country’s road network spans 6.3 million km, and state-run oil companies operate over 88,500 fuel stations, as of 1 July 2025—excluding private fuel retailers.
A One-Stop Platform for EV Users
The BHEL-developed app is designed to act as a single-window platform for EV drivers, integrating charging locations, availability status, booking options, and payment facilities.
By mapping India’s entire public charging network, the platform aims to reduce range anxiety, improve accessibility, and provide policymakers with actionable infrastructure insights—all while safeguarding user privacy.Queries to the Ministry of Heavy Industries, BHEL, NPCI, and major oil marketing and energy companies such as IOCL, BPCL, HPCL, Jio-bp, and Adani Total Energies remained unanswered at the time of publication.
