FAME-India scheme that provides incentives on hybrid and electric vehicles announced

The Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises has announced the launch of FAME-India to make hybrid and electric cars affordable in the country. FAME-India stands for Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles in India and is part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan.

In view of the fast depleting oil reserves and ever spiralling pollution levels, the Government Of India has launched this scheme to promote adoption of hybrid and electric vehicles. Speaking about the new initiative, Anand Geete, Union Heavy Industries minister, said, "We are starting the scheme in metropolitan cities. Eventually the scheme will be launched in Smart Cities and all major cities across the country."

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The scheme will be implemented in a phased manner. The first phase will be implemented over the course of two years, from 2015 to 2017. Out of an approved outlay of Rs 795 crores, Rs 500 crore is earmarked for demand incentives alone. Rest of the funding will be spent on other aspects such as developing charging station infrastructure, pilot projects, technology platforms and so on. The heavy industries ministry is seeking a funding of Rs. 14,000 for the scheme.

The scheme provides incentives upon purchase of an hybrid or electric vehicle. The customer can get the incentive in the form of a low cost hybrid or electric car. Manufacturers can then claim the incentive from the government at the end of each month. FAME will cover all segments- cars, motorcycles, three-wheelers, buses and trucks.

The demand incentives for scooters and motorcycles ranges from Rs 1,800 to Rs 29,000 and for three-wheelers is from Rs 3,300 to Rs 61,000. For cars, the incentives will range from Rs 13,000 to Rs 1.38 lakh. For buses, the incentive will range from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 66 lakh.

Speaking on the occasion, Vishnu Mathur, director general, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said, "This a giant step toward cleaner mobility. This is a new generation technology, which India has started late and with this we are going to make a beginning."

Anand Geete said that the incentives will help increase production and adoption of hybrid and electric vehicles in India. He also said that manufacturers can make India as an export hub for such vehicles.

Currently, cars such as the all-electric Mahindra e2o and hybrids like the Toyota Camry, Prius as well as the BMW 7 Series ActiveHybrid and the recently launched BMW i8 are available in India. In addition, two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp had showcased the Hero Leap hybrid scooter at the 2014 Delhi Auto Expo. Maruti Suzuki had also showcased its hybrid Swift-Range Extender at the event.

FAME-India will make these cars and two-wheelers cheaper and viable options in the near future.