FAME-III to be implemented soon, final plan ready: HD Kumaraswamy

The second phase of the ambitious Rs 11,500 crore scheme ended on March 31. The scheme incentivised more than 1.6 million vehicles since its launch in April 2019

The Centre is planning to roll out the third phase of its flagship Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme in the "near future", Union Minister for Heavy Industries HD Kumaraswamy said here on Tuesday.

“Already preparatory work is going on. All the seven (line) ministries have recommended how to implement the FAME-III programme. In the future, some months or some future days, we will implement it,” Kumaraswamy said on the sidelines of an event organised by automobile industry body SIAM.

Asked if FAME III will be part of the upcoming Union Budget, Kumaraswamy said: “No no, it is actually in the final stages.” Ministry officials did not immediately clarify if the minister's comment pertained to the Union Budget. There was no official clarification from the ministry till the time of going to press.

The second phase of the Rs 11,500-crore scheme ended on March 31. The scheme incentivised more than 1.6 million vehicles since its launch in April 2019.

On the issue of reduction of taxes on hybrid vehicles, Kumaraswamy said it will be discussed under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will take a decision on the road map ahead, and the finance ministry will work on it.

“All those things are actually under the leadership of the Prime Minister. How best we can survive this…future plans…actually the finance ministry is going to take the decision,” the minister said.

On the question whether US-based electric carmaker Tesla has communicated to the government about its intention to invest in India under the new EV policy, he said nothing has been discussed yet. “We have not discussed anything yet,” Kumaraswamy said.

The Ministry for Heavy Industries (MHI) has come up with three proposals for the third iteration of the flagship government scheme to push electric vehicle adoption, Business Standard reported in June.

The three proposals are likely to have a budget of Rs 12,600 crore to over Rs 30,000 crore.

The MHI has received an in-principle approval for Rs 10,000 crore from the Finance Ministry’s Department of Expenditure for the FAME scheme.

FAME was launched in 2015 with an initial outlay of about Rs 900 crore, which was bumped up to around Rs 10,000 crore for the second phase in 2019. The budget was revised to Rs 11,500 crore due to high demand.

It was followed by the Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme 2024 (EMPS 2024) with a budgetary outlay of Rs 500 crore. This scheme aims to support around 400,000 electric two-wheelers (e2W) and three-wheelers (e3W) over four months. The scheme is scheduled to end on July 31.