The government has decided to yet again extend the duration of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) and Electric Vehicles (FAME) program aimed at facilitating the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.

This time, the government has extended the program for a duration of six months or until the second phase of the program is implemented, whichever is earlier. Mercom reported previously that the central government has already approved a subsidy corpus of ₹55 billion (~$0.78 billion) to be disbursed under the second phase of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles (FAME) program. The FAME II program will be in force for five years.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, in a notification said, “It has been decided that the period of the FAME-India program be further extended for a further period of six months, i.e. up to March 31, 2019 or till notification of FAME-II, whichever is earlier.”

This is the fourth time that the phase one of the scheme is being extended. FAME-I was originally launched for a two-year period between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2017. This was done at an approved outlay of ₹750 million (~$11.56 million). Later, the scheme was extended for six months until September 30, 2017, then again until March 31, 2018, and the third time until September 30, 2018.

The fourth extension is subjected to the following:

• The benefits of incentives available to conventional battery vehicles will be discontinued from October 1, 2018.
• Vehicles that do not need registration will get excluded from the program with effect from October 1, 2018, irrespective of the battery type.

FAME India is a part of National Electricity Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) and the government launched the FAME I scheme to provide a push for early adoption and market creation for both hybrids and EVs. The FAME program covers all vehicles – two wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers and buses. The incentives to be provided are based on the type and make of any given vehicle. Mercom recently analyzed the EV hotspots in India that might lead the country’s EV revolution.