2.8 Lakh electric vehicles supported by way of extending demand incentives

As a pilot project, 425 e-buses were also supported by various cities/ states to promote public transportation.

Since the inception of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) in 2015, about 2.8 lakh vehicles have been supported by way of extending demand incentives of about Rs. 359 Crore [Approx.].  As a pilot project, 425 e-buses were also supported by various cities/ states to promote public transportation.

Government-approved Phase-I of FAME India Scheme in March 2015 for a period of 2 years from 1st April 2015 to promote the adoption of electric vehicles with an aim to reduce dependency on fossil fuel and to address issues of vehicular emissions. The Phase-I of the Scheme was extended from time to time and the last extension was allowed till 31st March 2019.

Based on outcome and experience gained during the Phase-I of FAME India Scheme and after having consultations with all stakeholders including industry and industry associations, the Government notified Phase-II of FAME India Scheme on 8th March 2019, which is for a period of three years commencing from 1st April 2019 with total budgetary support of Rs. 10,000 crore. This phase will mainly focus on supporting the electrification of public & shared transportation, and aims to support through incentives about 7000 e-buses, 5 lakh e-3 wheelers (e-3W), 55000 e-4 wheelers (e-4W) passenger cars and 10 lakh e-2 wheelers.  In addition, the creation of charging infrastructure will be also supported to address range anxiety among users of electric vehicles.

Under Phase-II of FAME-India Scheme, incentives are being provided to the consumers on purchase of electric vehicles, used for public transport or those registered for commercial purposes in e-3W, e-4W (including Strong Hybrid) segment, however, privately owned registered e-2W are also be covered under the scheme.  The demand incentive to these electrical vehicles is linked to battery capacity i.e. Rs. 10,000/KWh subject to the capping of 20% cost of these vehicles. Demand incentive is restricted to vehicles with prices less than the threshold value which is Rs 1.5 Lakh for e-2W, 5 lakh for e-3W and 15 Lakh for e-4W.

This information was given by the Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Prakash Javadekar, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

(With Inputs from PIB)