The Indian government has stated that the FAME-II scheme will not be extended beyond March 31. Despite media reports hinting at a provisional four-month extension until July 31 with a budget of INR 500 crore, officials have refuted these claims. They emphasized that subsidies will only be applicable to electric vehicles sold up to March 31, 2024, or until the allocated funds are exhausted.
The government announced on Thursday that the FAME-II scheme, aimed at promoting electric mobility, has not been extended beyond its current end date of March 31, according to officials. Contrary to media reports suggesting a four-month extension until July 31 with a budget allocation of INR 500 crore, the Ministry of Heavy Industries has clarified that no such extension has been granted.
The ministry also confirmed last month that subsidies under the second phase of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme will be available for electric vehicles (EVs) sold until March 31, 2024, or until the available funds are exhausted. Additionally, the ministry announced an increase in the budget for the FAME-II program from INR 10,000 crore to INR 11,500 crore.
The statement further explained that FAME II is a time-bound and fund-limited initiative designed to boost the adoption of EVs in India. The revised budget allocation includes INR 7,048 crore for subsidies on electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and four-wheelers. Additionally, INR 4,048 crore is allocated for capital grants to support infrastructure development, and INR 400 crore is earmarked for other related expenditures.
The FAME 2 scheme, initially launched in 2019 with a three-year budget of INR 10,000 crore, has been extended until March 2024 with an increased total budget of INR 11,500 crore. The scheme aims to support the adoption of 10 lakh electric two-wheelers, 5 lakh electric three-wheelers, 55,000 electric passenger cars, and 7,000 electric buses.
As of January 31, the scheme had distributed INR 5,790 crore in subsidies to EV manufacturers following the sale of 13.41 lakh electric vehicles, including 11.86 lakh two-wheelers, 1.39 lakh three-wheelers, and 16,991 four-wheelers. The government has also sanctioned the deployment of 6,862 electric buses for city operations across various cities and state transport units and allocated INR 800 crore as a capital subsidy to oil marketing companies for the establishment of 7,432 public EV charging stations.
