FAME infra awaits ₹5,500-cr funding booster

The Cabinet is set to inject ₹5500 crore in the second phase of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing Electric (FAME) and strong hybrid vehicles scheme to boost clean mobility across the country. The scheme in its second phase is offering a bouquet of incentives such as exemption from road tax, registration fee and parking charges for various categories of electric and strong hybrid vehicles. The scheme will focus on boosting demand for EVs and creating the vehicle charging infrastructure, said a senior government official. No standardization of batteries is being introduced under the scheme, wherein one type of battery is suitable for any electric vehicle. However, vehicles fitted with only advanced batteries will be eligible for demand incentives. The Department of Heavy Industries may make incentives a pre-condition for states to be included in the second phase, which will be rolled out through verticals, including demand incentives, network of charging stations, pilot projects for innovative proposals, technology, platform for e-mobility, and its administration.

In a related development, electric vehicle charging infrastructure provider EVI Technologies plans to invest around ₹100 crore in setting up 20,000 charging stations across the country. The firm, incubated at the Electropreneur Park funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, has also tied up with BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd to set up around 3,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Delhi, informed CEO - EVI Technologies, Rupesh Kumar, and informed that the company has a target to create a network of around 20,000 EV chargers. This will include home and public charging stations. The company has a presence in 16 locations in 10 states.