India continues to set the benchmarks for the EV industry with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the National Standard Body of India, approving the country’s first ever indigenously developed AC and DC Combined Charging connector standard for light electric vehicles (LEVs), IS17017 (Part 2 / Sec 7): 2023. This is also the world’s first ever combined AC and DC charging connector standard for light electric vehicles and is designed and engineered in India, which can become the benchmark globally for LEVs. This standard paves the way for a common light electric vehicle AC and DC combined charging system that benefits all sections of the EV ecosystem, from owners and vehicle manufacturers to charge point operators. 

In a first-of-its kind initiative, NITI Aayog, the Department of Science and Technology, ARAI, EV makers, and the Bureau of Indian Standards came together to develop a national standard. This standard will help create an open ecosystem, which will drive faster EV adoption across the globe. This allows OEMs to move away from relying solely on international standards and protocols and instead implement a charging system that will propel Indian innovation ahead.The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has approved Ather-Developed Connector as the country’s first-ever combined charging standard for light electric vehicles, including two- and three-wheelers.

Swapnil Jain, Founder, Ather Energy, said, “Taking our stride further in the EV space today, we have an EV charging standard for India with the potential to be implemented worldwide. This is a remarkable achievement because, for the first time, an India-designed and developed technology can be used globally. As a country, we have come a long way because we are no longer dependent on any EV technology transfer from outside India to create something that has a worldwide market. This could well be the tipping point that catapults India into a global league of technology-based solution providers in the EV-automobile sector that only a few countries in the world are capable of.”