Odisha CM Office launches 26 e-buses under PM-eBus Sewa
Synopsis
The Chief Minister's Office of Odisha flagged off 26 new electric buses under PM-eBus Sewa on 24 October 2026, with 550 additional electric, midi, and mini buses planned to expand the Ama Bus network to nine more cities across the state.
Key Takeaways
26 new electric buses launched under the PM-eBus Sewa scheme in Odisha on 24 October 2026 .
550 more buses — electric, midi, and mini — are planned for phased deployment under the same programme.
The expanded fleet will extend Ama Bus services to 9 additional cities in Odisha.
PM-eBus Sewa was announced in the 2023 Union Budget with a national target of 10,000 electric buses across Indian cities.
The initiative aims to provide cleaner, more convenient urban commutes and reduce dependence on fossil-fuel transport.
Green wheels are rolling in Odisha. The Chief Minister's Office of Odisha announced on Saturday, 24 October 2026 that 26 new electric buses have been flagged off under the PM-eBus Sewa scheme — with a far larger fleet of 550 more electric, midi, and mini buses already lined up to follow, extending the state's Ama Bus network to 9 additional cities.
26 buses today, 550 more on the way
The CMO's bilingual post — in Odia and English — framed the launch as giving 'new momentum to eco-friendly and modern public transport in the people's government.' The 26 inaugural e-buses are the opening salvo of a phased expansion. Once the planned 550 buses — a mix of full-size electric, midi, and mini variants — join the fleet, the Ama Bus service will stretch into nine new urban centres, substantially widening the network's geographic reach across the state.
PM-eBus Sewa: the central spine behind the state push
The rollout rides on the PM-eBus Sewa scheme, which the central government announced in the 2023 Union Budget with a target of deploying 10,000 electric buses across Indian cities. The programme operates on a public-private partnership model, with the Centre funding capital costs and states managing operations — making it a rare case of federal and state machinery pulling in the same direction on urban mobility. Odisha's move integrates that central architecture directly into its own Ama Bus brand, giving commuters a familiar service identity even as the fleet goes electric.
Why this matters beyond the bus depot
India's cities are under mounting pressure to cut transport emissions, and electric public buses are one of the few levers that can move the needle at scale — each e-bus replacing a diesel counterpart takes dozens of private vehicles' worth of pollution out of the equation. Odisha's decision to blend full-size, midi, and mini formats signals a deliberate attempt to serve both high-density corridors and narrower secondary routes that standard buses cannot reach. For the 9 cities newly entering the Ama Bus map, the arrival of a reliable, clean public transit option could reshape daily commutes that currently depend almost entirely on autorickshaws and private vehicles.
The fleet's phased arrival will be the real test — but the signal from Bhubaneswar today is unambiguous: Odisha is betting on electric public transport as infrastructure, not optics.
Point of View
The real governance test is operational: fare structures, route optimisation, and maintenance ecosystems will determine whether this becomes a durable urban utility or a high-visibility ribbon-cutting. More broadly, the phased multi-format fleet — standard, midi, and mini — suggests Odisha's planners are serious about last-mile reach, which is where most Indian e-bus programmes have historically fallen short.
NationPress
24 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PM-eBus Sewa and how does it work in Odisha?
PM-eBus Sewa is a central government scheme announced in the 2023 Union Budget to deploy 10,000 electric buses across Indian cities. In Odisha, the scheme funds the capital cost of the buses, which are then operated under the state's Ama Bus brand.
How many e-buses were launched in Odisha on 24 October 2026?
26 new electric buses were launched on 24 October 2026 under PM-eBus Sewa, with 550 more electric, midi, and mini buses planned for a phased rollout.
Which cities in Odisha will get new Ama Bus services?
The Ama Bus network is set to expand to 9 additional cities in Odisha, though the specific cities have not yet been officially named in the announcement.
What is Ama Bus in Odisha?
Ama Bus is the Odisha state government's public bus service providing intra-city and regional connectivity. The latest expansion integrates electric buses from PM-eBus Sewa into this existing network.
Why is Odisha adding midi and mini buses to the fleet?
Midi and mini buses are designed for narrower secondary routes and lower-density corridors where standard full-size buses cannot operate efficiently, helping extend clean public transport to more areas of the city.
