As of November 25, 2021, over 165,000 electric vehicles (EVs) have been supported through demand incentives of ₹5.64 billion (~$75.36 million) under the second phase of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME)-II program, Minister of State for Heavy Industries Krishan Pal Gurjar said in response to questions raised in the Lok Sabha.

He added that 6,315 electric buses have been allotted to various state transport undertakings under the FAME-II program. The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) has also approved 2,877 EV charging stations totaling ₹5 billion (~$66.80 million) across 68 cities in 25 states and union territories. MHI also approved 1,576 charging stations amounting to ₹1.08 billion (~$14.43 million) across nine expressways and 16 highways under the FAME-II program.

Gurjar stated that in the first phase of the program, about 280,000 electric and hybrid vehicles were supported through demand incentives amounting to ₹35.9 billion (~$47.96 million). MHI had also allocated 425 electric and hybrid buses to various cities with a total cost of about ₹2.80 billion (~$37.40 million). MHI had also approved about 520 charging stations ₹430 million (~$5.74 million) under the FAME-I program.

The minister also drew on data provided by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). SIAM reported that the Indian automobile industry generates employment for 13 people per truck manufactured, six people per car, four people per three-wheelers, and one person for two-wheelers.

In September, The Union Government had notified the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) program for automobile and auto components. It is estimated that the PLI program will lead to investments of over ₹425 billion (~$5.72 billion) in five years and incremental production of over ₹2.3 trillion (~$ 31 billion). The program is expected to create over 750,000 jobs.

In June this year, the government issued a notification for the PLI incentives under the ‘National program on Advanced Chemical Cell (ACC) battery storage’ to implement ACC manufacturing facilities for EVs.

Several states, including Assam, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Gujarat, have launched state-specific EV policies to bolster EV production in their respective states.

Image Credit: By BP63Vincent, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons