All 7,000 e-buses under FAME-II may ply on Indian roads next year: Official

GREATER NOIDA: All 7,000 electric buses under the FAME-II scheme are expected to ply in different cities of the country in the next one year, a senior official of the Heavy Industries ministry said on Thursday.

Out of the 7,000 electric buses under the FAME-II scheme, over 3,000 e-buses are already operating in the country.

In 2019, the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II (FAME India Phase II) scheme for promotion of electric mobility in the country was approved.

Through the scheme, it is planned to support 10 lakh e-two-wheelers, 5 lakh e-three-wheelers, 55,000 four-wheelers and 7,000 e-buses.

Joint Secretary in the ministry Hanif Qureshi said that the government is taking steps to promote growth of the industry and for faster adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country.

"Electric mobility is an important part to reduce carbon emissions. The government has launched schemes to promote EVs. FAME is a demand (driven) incentive scheme. 7,000 buses so far incentives under the scheme. I hope in the next year it will be on the road. We have more plans to incentivise buses," he said at the ongoing Auto Expo 2023.

He also said that the government has rolled out a production-linked incentive scheme for manufacturing of advanced cell chemistry batteries to strengthen the EV ecosystem of the country.

Speaking on the subject, Adviser (Infrastructure Connectivity - Transport and Electric Mobility) Sudhendu Sinha pitched for the quality of batteries to promote electric vehicles in the country.