Published By: Rohit Chatterjee

Everything to Know about the Revised FAME II Subsidy

Launched in 2015, the government of India’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and EV (FAME) scheme has witnessed a substantial change a few days ago

In 2015, the government of India launched the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and EV (FAME) scheme, which provides special aids to electric vehicle manufacturers. Not just manufacturers but under the scheme, electric vehicle buyers are also granted various favours. A few days ago, the FAME scheme which is presently under phase II witnessed a modification by the government. As per the latest revision, the government has increased the demand for incentive for electric two-wheelers up to INR 15,000 per kWh. Earlier, the subsidy only authorized a sum of INR 10,000 per kWh.

To put it in layman terms, the government of India has increased the subsidy on electric two-wheelers by a substantial 50 per cent. This means that the electric two-wheelers in India will be more economical. Furthermore, the scheme has also clarified that an electric two-wheeler in India should not bear an ex-showroom price tag of more than INR 1.50 lakh. Not to overlook, the government has asked all the electric two-wheeler manufacturers to produce scooters that offer a minimum range of 80 kilometres and a minimum top speed of 40 kilometres per hour. In case a scooter fails to meet these criterions, the scooter and manufacturer will be denied the benefits offered under the FAME II scheme.

The move has been embraced enthusiastically by the electric two-wheeler industry. Commenting on the step taken by the Centre; Tarun Mehta, the CEO and Co-founder of Ather Energy said, “The revision in the FAME (II) policy, increasing the subsidy by 50% per kWh, is a phenomenal move,” Ather Energy CEO and Co-founder Tarun Mehta said in a statement. “Sales of electric two-wheelers have grown despite the pandemic and with this additional subsidy, we expect electric two-wheeler sales to disrupt the market, and clock 6 million-plus units by 2025.”

Since the launch of the FAME II scheme in 2019 (FAME I, 2015), the electric vehicle industry in India has marked an immense boost. Through the FAME II scheme, the government desires to support electric vehicle manufacturers and create a fast-paced electric vehicle infrastructure in the country. When launched, the FAME II scheme had an allocation of INR 10,000 crore and so far, a colossal amount has been invested for the development of an electric vehicle ecosystem in the nation.