Minister of Heavy Industries H. D. Kumaraswamy (Photo: PTI)
Union Minister of Heavy Industries, H D Kumaraswamy, on Wednesday urged the automotive industry to strictly adhere to the guidelines of the newly launched Rs 10,900 crore PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme, cautioning against repeating past mistakes made under the Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme.
“My personal request to all manufacturers is to follow the guidelines we’ve set for the scheme,” Kumaraswamy said during the launch of PM E-DRIVE on Tuesday.
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He further urged the industry to comply with the guidelines of other production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes. “In FAME, there were differences between manufacturers and the ministry. I don’t want to see any scope for controversy or differences when availing PLI schemes under this ministry,” he added.
The government has existing production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes for automotive and auto components, with a budget allocation of approximately Rs 25,938 crore. Furthermore, there is an Rs 18,100 crore PLI scheme specifically for advanced chemistry cells.
The minister’s remarks come in the wake of violations under the FAME scheme, where 13 companies were found to have wrongfully claimed subsidies. Seven automakers — Hero Electric, Okinawa Autotech, Ampere Vehicles (Greaves Cotton), Benling India, Revolt Intellicorp, Amo Mobility, and Lohia Auto — were identified for using imported products, violating the phased manufacturing programme (PMP) guidelines. These companies have been asked to repay around Rs 469 crore.
Additionally, four companies — Ola Electric, Ather Energy, TVS, and Hero MotoCorp’s Vida — were found to have breached the ex-factory price norm. They have been ordered to refund a total of Rs 288 crore to customers.
The ex-factory price violators have already repaid over 90 per cent of the wrongfully claimed subsidy to customers, with the remaining amount deposited with the government. Meanwhile, PMP violators Hero Electric and Okinawa Autotech are contesting the matter in court. Others have reimbursed the wrongfully claimed subsidy to the government.
The PM E-DRIVE scheme, approved by the government on September 11, succeeds the ambitious Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme. It also subsumes the Rs 500 crore Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS) 2024, which is in effect from April 1 to September 30.
The scheme will be valid until March 31, 2026.
This new scheme replaces the previous FAME initiatives, which began with FAME-I in 2015, followed by FAME-II with an outlay of Rs 11,500 crore.
FAME-II proved to be financially successful, with approximately 93 per cent of targeted vehicles incentivised and 92 per cent of the allocated funds utilised, Kumaraswamy said.
The PM E-DRIVE scheme allocates Rs 2,000 crore for the installation of 22,100 fast chargers for electric four-wheelers, 1,800 for e-buses, and 48,400 for e-two- and three-wheelers.
Under the new scheme, support will be provided for 24.79 lakh e-two-wheelers, 3.16 lakh e-three-wheelers, and 14,028 e-buses. The scheme offers subsidies and demand incentives amounting to Rs 3,679 crore for e-two-wheelers, e-three-wheelers, e-ambulances, e-trucks, and other emerging EVs. Notably, the scheme does not extend incentives to e-cars.
Additionally, Rs 4,391 crore has been earmarked for the procurement of 14,028 e-buses by state transport undertakings and public transport agencies. Demand aggregation will be managed by Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) in nine cities with populations exceeding 40 lakh. The cities are Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Surat, Bangalore, Pune, and Hyderabad. The scheme also supports intercity and interstate e-buses in consultation with state governments.
First Published: Oct 01 2024 | 7:07 PM IST
