New Delhi/IBNS: In a significant move to accelerate India's transition to electric vehicles, the Centre on Friday (July 26) announced a two-month extension of the Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS) 2024.

The EMPS 2024, which was originally set to run from April 1, 2024 till July 31, 2024, has been extended till September-end, reports said.

The Union Ministry of Heavy Industries said in a statement that the EMPS's outlay has also been enhanced to Rs 778 crore from the initial Rs 500 crore meant for subsidising sale of electric two and three wheelers.

EMPS was introduced to continue supporting sales of clean energy powered vehicles after the lapse of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) subsidy scheme on March 31, 2024.

The EMPS scheme, under which electric vehicle (EV) buyers can get a subsidy up to worth Rs 10,000 per two-wheeler and Rs 50,000 per three-wheeler, was introduced to continue supporting sales of clean energy powered vehicles after the lapse of the Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) subsidy scheme on March 31, 2024.

Under the scheme, Indian EV-makers sell the locally made vehicles at a discount to buyers and later claim subsidies from the Union Ministry of Heavy Industries.

Target numbers under the scheme have also been raised upwards to 560,789 EVs, including 500,080 electric two-wheelers (e-2Ws) and 60,709 electric three-wheelers (e-3Ws), from 3.72 lakh initial goals, according to the statement.