The government of India is planning a six-fold increase in the allocation of funds for the second phase of FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles) India scheme. This will include an investment of about Rs 5,500 crore over five years which will provide subsidies for all types of electric vehicles (EVs) including two-, three- and four-wheelers to promote environment-friendly vehicles and check pollution.
Under FAME I, the government had sanctioned a corpus of Rs 795 crore, which was later augmented to Rs 895 crore. The aim was to create demand incentives, create infrastructure, within which EV homologation facilities are set up at ARAI and other centres, supporting many R&D projects and launch of new pilot projects. These pilot projected included the launch of 450 EVs across 9 cities under the public transportation system.
Speaking on the opening day of SIAT 2109 in Pune, Dr Asha Ram Sihag, Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries, said the focus of the FAME policy under its second stage (for a five-year period from April 2019) is to support public transportation, shared mobility and electric mobility including for small vehicles such as two-wheelers. “The government is looking to earmark Rs 5,500 crore which is under discussion with the Ministry of Finance currently. We expect that FAME II will kick-start after FAME 1 is phased out by the end of March 2019.”
ARAI Pune conducts post-crash analyses for EVs and HEVs. Tests are conducted by experts clad in safety suits that can take up to 1000 VDC and 600 AC.
Dr Sihag said that the government has invested in setting up homologation facilities for EVs at ARAI, Pune; GARC, Chennai and ICAT, Manesar as also a new battery testing facility at NATRAX in Indore. All of these facilities are to be functional in CY2019. “The automotive industry in India should not face a shortage of advanced testing facilities once all the above-mentioned EV homologation units are functional in CY2019,” he remarked.
300 new EV charging stations sanctioned
Dr Sihag added that the government has also been running pilot projects in the form of 225 EV charging stations in select cities across India. He revealed that the government has just sanctioned another 300 charging stations, which are expected to come up across cities and select highways. Citing examples of the chosen highways, Dr Sihag said Delhi-Agra-Jaipur and Mumbai-Pune are the two which will get EV charging stations. The timeline though was not mentioned.
He also stressed upon the Automotive Mission Plan 2026 which primarily has set three major goals for the Indian auto industry.
- India should be the world’s third largest global auto market by 2026.
- India Auto Inc’s contribution to GDP (currently at 8%), to increase to 12%.
- To generate additional employment – direct and indirect – of 65 million.