In a big push towards electric mobility the Government has sanctioned 670 Electric buses in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat and Chandigarh and 241 Charging Stations in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat and Port Blair under Phase-II of FAME India Scheme. Announcing this in a series of tweet messages, Union Heavy Industries Minister, Prakash Javadekar said that the decision reflects government’s commitment to reduce dependence on fossil fuel and to address issues of vehicular emissions. Javadekar said that the decision is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for eco-friendly public transportation.
The Department of Heavy Industries (DHI) under Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, is administering the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) Scheme since April, 2015 to promote adoption of electric/ hybrid vehicles (xEVs) in India.
In the First Phase of the Scheme up to 31st March 2019 about 2,80,987 hybrid and electric vehicles were supported by way of demand incentive, amounting to about Rs 359 crore. Further, DHI sanctioned 425 electric and hybrid buses to various cities in the country with total cost of about Rs 280 Crores. The Department of Heavy Industry had also sanctioned 520 Charging Stations for Rs 43 Crore (approx.) in cities like Bangalore, Chandigarh, Jaipur and NCR of Delhi under Phase-I of FAME-India Scheme.
At present, Phase-II of FAME India Scheme is being implemented for a period of 3 years w.e.f. 01st April, 2019 with a total budgetary support of Rs. 10,000 crore. This phase focuses on supporting electrification of public & shared transportation and aims to support, through subsidies, approximately 7,000 e-Buses, 5 lakh e-3 Wheelers, 55,000 e-4 Wheeler Passenger Cars and 10 lakh e-2 Wheelers. In addition, creation of charging infrastructure is also supported to address the anxiety among users of electric vehicles.
