Union Cabinet approves PM E-Drive Scheme with Rs 10,900 cr budget

The scheme includes subsidies worth Rs 3,679 crore to encourage the use of battery-operated two and three-wheelers, ambulances, trucks, and other emerging EVs.

The decision on the PM Electric Drive Revolution In Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) Scheme was made during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Under the PM E-Drive, there will be full support for charging infrastructure at 88,500 locations. This funding is in addition to the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for the auto and auto component sectors.

"The major components of the scheme are as under:  Subsidies/Demand incentives worth Rs.3,679 crore have been provided to incentivize e-2Ws, e-3Ws, e-ambulances, e-trucks and other emerging EVs. The scheme will support 24.79 lakh e-2Ws, 3.16 lakh e-3Ws, and 14,028 e-buses," as per the release issued by Press Information Bureau.

Furthermore, Rs 4,391 crore has also been provided for the procurement of 14,028 e-buses by state transport undertakings and public transport agencies.

Under this scheme, there is also PM-eBus Sewa Payment Security Mechanism of Rs 3,435 crore for the battery-run bus market.

Another Rs 500 crore has been earmarked for the deployment of e-ambulances.

The sum of Rs 500 crore has been provided for incentivizing the adoption of e-trucks.

This is a new initiative of the government to promote the use of e-ambulance for comfortable patient transport, according to the minister.

However, he clarified that this newly introduced policy doesn't provide any incentives for electric cars and will also not consider hybrid vehicles.

The PM E-Drive Scheme replaces the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicle (FAME) Scheme, which was launched in April 2015 and ran for nine years in two different editions.

During the second edition of this scheme, which was valid until March 31, 2024, the government subsidised 13,21,800 EVs with a total outlay of Rs 11,500 crore.

The FAMEII scheme was later replaced by the Rs 500-crore Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme 2024, which was valid for four months and got extended till September 31, 2024.