In welcome news for EV manufacturers, the Govt has announced that FAME -3 or third phase of Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme will be rolled out within two months. The decision is part of the Govt’s initiative to boost EV adoption across the country.
Speaking at the National Conference on Electric Mobility organised by ASSOCHAM, Union Minister for Heavy Industries- HD Kumaraswamy said, “The third iteration of the Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme will be rolled out within two months. We are taking a comprehensive approach to boost EV eco-system and I call upon all stakeholders to join hands towards making India a global leader in electric mobility and towards our vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat’.”
Once rolled out, the FAME-3 scheme will replace EMPS or Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme 2024. It will expire at the end of the current month-September. It was initially planned for a temporary 4-month period and later extended for another 2 months. This was primarily done to continue giving additional incentives to electric two- and three-wheeler players and there was an outlay of about Rs 1500 crore.
The EMPS 2024 scheme was brought to focus after the FAME 2 expired in March this year. The second iteration of FAME was rolled out in 2019 and was originally targetted for three years, till 2022. However, it was then extended till March, 2024. The extension by 2 years also came along with an additional overlay of Rs 1500 crore.
EV sales in August, across two-wheelers, passenger vehicles and last mile commercial vehicle space have seen a steady growth in numbers. The Minister added that “the transition to electric mobility requires a skilled workforce and we are working closely with industry bodies to address the skill gap for a future ready workforce. As we move forward, the focus is now on accelerating adoption of EV across segments including heavy-duty trucks, strengthening the EV value chain, enhancing related infrastructure and policy boost to encourage innovation and investment in electric mobility.”
Delivering the Industry perspective, Nishant Arya, Chairman, National Council on Green Mobility, ASSOCHAM and Vice Chairman & MD, JBM Group said, “The EV sector in India has transitioned into an ecosystem play now with multiple traditional OEMs, start-ups, EV aggregate manufacturers in the battery pack space and projects under the PLI scheme. The sector has the capacity to generate 50 million jobs in the next 10 years. A sector focussed policy like the PLI scheme in manufacturing and according the Infrastructure tag to the sector will go a long way in boosting the sector’s growth.”
