Under FAME II, 70% funds remaining to be utilized

Under FAME II, 70% funds remaining to be utilized

The Government of India (GoI) had approved the scheme titled ‘Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric (&Hybrid) Vehicles in India’ (FAME India) in March, 2015 for a period of 2 years. On 8^th March 2019, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) notified Phase-II of the Scheme for a period of 5 years, commencing from 1st April 2019, with an outlay of INR 10,000 crore.

100% of the budget allocated at the RE stage under FAME II Scheme has been utilized by the Ministry in the Financial Years 2019-20 to 2021-22. However, the expenditure as against the budget allotted at the RE stage i.e. INR 2897.84 crore for the FY 2022-23 has not reached even halfway-mark till 08.02.2023 with less than two months left in the current financial year.

Current status of the Budget Expenditure (BE), Revised Estimate (RE) and Actual Expenditure (AE) for Phase II of FAME–India Scheme (FAME II) since its adoption is as under:

FAME II Scheme aims to generate demand by way of supporting 7210 e-Buses, 5 lakh e-3 Wheelers, 55000 e-4 Wheeler Passenger Cars (including Strong Hybrid), and 10 lakh e-2 Wheelers. The details of targeted vehicles to be supported vs. actual vehicle sales along with scheme outlay vs. expenditure under FAME II, category-wise as on 31.12.2022, are as under:

Table 1. FAME II expenditure status by vehicle category

Category	Scheme Outlay (INR crores)	Vehicles to be supported (in nos.)	Actual vehicle sales (in nos.)	Percentage achievement	Expenditure to date (in INR crore)
e-2W	2,000	10,00,000	7,22,782	72.27%	1,574
e-3W	2,500	5,00,000	75,834	15.17%	158
e-4W	551	55,000	5,899	10.73%	18
e-Buses	3,545	7,090	7,210	100%	997
Total	8,596	15,62,090	8,11,725	51.96%	2,747

The FAME II Scheme has achieved only 51.96% of the target by supporting 8,11,725 vehicles as of 31st December 2022

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

With regard to EV Charging stations, the MHI has sanctioned 2,877 EV charging stations in 68 cities across 25 States/UTs and Letters of Award were being issued to the selected entities after ensuring the availability of land for Charging Stations, signing of necessary agreements/MoU with concerned partner organizations like City Municipal Corporation/Discom/Oil companies etc. Letters of award for 1822 EV Charging Stations have been issued as on the 09^th December, 2022. Out of these 1822 EV Charging Stations, total 83 EV Charging stations are commissioned and are operational as on 09th December, 2022. Further, 1576 charging stations across 9 Expressways and 16 Highways under phase-II of FAME India Scheme have also been sanctioned.

FY2023-24 Allotment under FAME II

For FY2023-24, the FAME II Scheme has got the allotment of INR 5171.97 crore. The component- wise expected expenditure for the FAME Scheme for the FY2023-24 is as follows:

Table 2. FAME II allotment for FY2023-24

Heads	Budget Expenditure for FY2023-24 (in INR Crore)
Demand Incentive (2/3/4W)	1981.30
Buses	2999.00
Chargers	180.00
Office Expenses	6.00
Advertising & Publicity	0.50
Professional Services	4.00
Training Expenses	0.50
Printing & Publications	0.67
Total	5,171.97

The higher allocation of INR 5171.97 crore for FY2023-24 under FAME II is expected to provide greater thrust to the electric mobility in the country. The major portion of the fund allocated under FAME-II Scheme for the FY2023-24 is for the Chargers. However, the MHI has not been able to install most of the chargers under the FAME Scheme and therefore, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has been roped in on the proposal to roll out charging stations in the retail outlets of Public Sector Units.

Overall, the FAME Scheme (I & II) has provided great impetus to adoption of EVs in India. However, more needs to be done with appropriate utilization of funds sanctioned under the scheme. In addition, the scheme needs to be extended beyond the deadline of March 2024 if EV adoption needs to be increased in the country.