The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) is focusing on FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India) Phase II Scheme for faster adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in India. The Scheme has been launched with an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore to incentivize demand for EVs by providing upfront subsidies and creating EV charging infrastructure.

Redesigned in June 2021 with feedback from industry and users, FAME II will support one million electric 2 wheelers, five lakh electric 3 wheelers, 55,000 electric cars, and 7,090 electric buses through subsidies. The government has also made an allocation of Rs. 1,000 crore under FAME II for provision of EV charging stations.

The redesigned scheme aims at faster proliferation of Electric Vehicles by lowering the upfront costs and has been extended for a further period of 2 years i.e. upto March 31, 2024. The salient features of the Scheme are: Demand incentive for Electric 2 Wheelers increased from Rs. 10,000/KWh to Rs. 15,000/KWh with maximum cap increased from 20% to 40% of the cost of vehicles; For Electric 3 Wheelers, aggregation will be the key method to bring the upfront cost at an affordable level. Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) will aggregate demand for 3 lakh Electric 3 Wheelers for multiple user segments; and for Electric buses, 9 cities with over 4 million population (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Surat, and Pune) will be targeted. EESL will aggregate the demand in these 9 cities for remaining Electric buses under the scheme on OPEX basis. The remodeling of FAME II has led to an increase in sales of two wheelers from 700 per week to 5,000 per week. Of the total Electric Vehicles incentivized, around 67% constitutes electric two wheelers. In 2021 (up to 16th December 2021), a total 1.4 lakh Electric vehicles - 1.19 lakh electric two wheelers, 20.42 K electric three wheelers, and 580 electric four wheelers have been incentivized amounting to incentive of about Rs. 500 crore under FAME II. Total 1.85 lakh Electric Vehicles have been incentivized under FAME II till now.

835 Electric buses have been deployed. 314 in Mumbai, 150 in Navi Mumbai, 90 in Ahmedabad, 105 in UP, 30 in Goa, 25 in Patna, 49 in Surat, 16 in Rajkot, 25 in Delhi, 11 in Chandigarh, 10 in silvassa and 10 in Dehradun in 2021 (till 16th December 2021). Total 861 Electric buses have been incentivized under FAME II till now.50 Electric buses have been sanctioned to GSRTC for deployment in Kevadia, a place of national importance. City/State transport undertakings have issued supply orders for 1,040 Electric buses in 2021 (till 16th December 2021). 100 in Goa, 100 for intercity bus operation by MSRTC, 40 in Chandigarh, 300 in Delhi by DTC, 300 in Bangalore, 50 for intra city & 50 for inter city bus operation in Tirupati, and 100 for intercity bus operation by GSRTC (Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation). Total supply orders have been issued for 3,428 Electric buses under FAME.

Timeline extension has been granted to STUs/CTUs undertakings as per their request to issue Supply Order/Letter of award by STUs/CTUs for 1,040 electric buses in 2021 (100 in Goa, 100 for intercity bus operation by MSRTC, 40 in Chandigarh, 300 in Bangalore, 50 for intra city and 50 for inter city bus operation in Tirupati, 100 in Rajkot, 150 in Surat, 50 each to KSRTC and NWKSRTC (North Western Road Transport Corporation) and 50 to Navi Mumbai.

1,576 EV charging stations have been sanctioned and Letters of Award have been issued across 9 Expressways and 16 Highways in 2021 (till 16th December, 2021). Letters of Award (LOA) issued for 35 charging stations have been issued till 16th December, 2021 (25 in Coimbatore and 10 in Erode). Total LOA have been issued for 1,797 charging stations in cities under FAME II.

Total 104 EV charging stations have been commissioned in 2021 (till 16th December 2021). 91 under FAME I (9 on Delhi - Chandigarh, 3 on Mumbai - Pune Expressways, 12 in Bangalore, 4 in Ranchi, 10 in Goa, 45 in Hyderabad, 6 in Agra, and 2 in Shimla) and 13 under FAME II i.e. 4 in Chennai, 3 in Delhi, 4 in Nagpur, and 2 in Ahmedabad.

For promoting Electric Vehicles and domestic manufacturing of Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC), the Union Cabinet on May 12, 2021 has approved the National Programme on ACC with an outlay of Rs. 18,100 crore to incentivize setting up of manufacturing facilities in the country for 50 GigaWatt Hour of ACC and 5 GWh of "Niche” ACC. As of now ACC are imported in the country.

Through this Scheme, the government intends to optimally incentivize potential investors, both domestic and overseas, to set- up Giga-scale ACC manufacturing facilities with emphasis on maximum value addition and quality output and achieving pre-committed capacity level within a predefined time-period.

Total investment of Rs. 45,000 crore is envisaged under this scheme. The scheme will reduce the import bills of ACC by Rs. 1,50,000 crore.

All the above Schemes - FAME II and Advanced Chemistry Cell will benefit Indian Electric manufacturers a lot and will lead to faster adoption of Electric Vehicles in the country by reducing the price. It will also help in developing the Electric Vehicle ecosystem in the country so that the cumulative EV manufacturing number for all vehicles surpasses Internal Combustion Engine vehicle numbers by 2025.