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

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)