India currently imports nearly 85% of its crude oil requirements, making fuel consumption not only a mobility issue but also an energy security and economic resilience challenge. While significant progress has been made in EV adoption, charging infrastructure and domestic manufacturing, industry experts believe procurement frameworks have yet to fully evolve alongside these developments.

A typical employee transport vehicle travelling approximately 3,000 kilometres every month can consume nearly 2,700-3,000 litres of fuel annually. At scale, the implications are considerable. A fleet of 100,000 such vehicles could consume approximately 270-300 million litres of fuel every year.

"I believe the challenge is not a lack of political intent or ecosystem readiness.  Charging infrastructure, vehicle reliability and domestic manufacturing capabilities have all improved significantly. The issue is that procurement systems remain optimised for immediate costs rather than long-term strategic outcomes. As a result, national priorities such as energy security, import substitution and reduced dependence on imported fuels are often treated as externalities rather than decision making criteria," said Anil Jain, Managing Director, Refex Mobility.

The government departments and PSUs represent a unique opportunity to accelerate electrification at scale. While fleet procurement decisions are often evaluated primarily through monthly rental costs, the broader economic benefits of electrification including reduced fuel demand, lower import dependence and greater resilience against global energy price volatility are rarely reflected in procurement frameworks.

The company believes that even a gradual transition of public-sector fleets to electric mobility could generate meaningful long-term benefits for the country.

Refex Mobility's experience in operating large scale EV fleets demonstrates that operational readiness is no longer the primary challenge. The company currently manages one of India's largest captive EV employee transportation fleets, with over 1,500 EVs, more than 3,200 trained chauffeurs and operations across Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi NCR. Its fleet has cumulatively completed more than 8 crore electric kilometres, supported by dedicated charging infrastructure and technology-enabled fleet management systems.

Government and PSU fleets present a unique opportunity to align public procurement with broader national objectives. The next phase of India's EV transition may depend not only on technology adoption but also on how we measure value in the decisions we make today. If our national priorities include energy security, Atmanirbhar Bharat and reduced dependence on imported energy, then our evaluation frameworks should be able to reflect those outcomes alongside immediate procurement costs.

As India pursues its goals of energy security, sustainable mobility, and economic self-reliance, industry stakeholders believe that government and PSU fleet electrification could emerge as one of the most impactful yet underutilised levers in the country's broader energy transition journey.