Piyush Goyal To Discuss Battery Swapping, Charging Infra With EV Players

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal is reportedly slated to meet executives and stakeholders from the electric vehicle industry today (January 3) to discuss issues, including infrastructure for battery charging and swapping across India.

As per PTI, citing sources familiar with the matter, representatives from Tata, Mahindra, Mercedes-Benz India, Hero MotoCorp and other companies have been invited to the deliberations.

Centre has brought in various initiatives to promote green mobility in the country, and one such feature is Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME-India) Scheme to promote electric mobility through demand incentive for electric vehicles.

The scheme also aids in reducing goods and services tax (GST) on EVs and enabling state EV policies as well.

As of October 31, 2024, a total of INR 8,844 Cr is spent under the FAME India scheme, including INR 6,577 Cr went into subsidies, INR 2,244 Cr for capital assets, and INR 23 Cr was used for miscellaneous expenses, based on the report of the heavy industries ministry.

Additionally, the heavy industries ministry also revealed that 16.15 Lakh EVs have been incentivized, which include 14.27 Lakh electric two wheelers, 1.59 Lakh electric three wheelers, 22,548 electric four wheelers, and 5,131 ebuses. Furthermore, 10,985 EV public charging stations (PCS) are sanctioned, with 8,812 allocated for installation.

In September 2024, it was revealed that the Centre was considering the expansion of the scope of FAME-III scheme with a proposed outlay of INR 11,000 Cr to include electric ambulances and police vehicles as well as to newer vehicle categories such as electric buses and three-wheelers.

Notably, the most recent phase, FAME-II was launched in 2019 with an outlay of INR 11,500 Cr to provide incentives for electric vehicles including two, three, four wheelers, electric buses and also EV PCS.

In terms of boosting EV adoption, in late September, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) notified the INR 10,900 Cr PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme with an aim to foster adoption of EVs by offering subsidies to manufacturers, shoring up charging infrastructure and spurring local EV manufacturing capabilities.

The union commerce and industry minister previously urged the industry players to ensure quick transition to electric mobility to achieve India’s goal of 100% electric vehicle nation at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025, two months ago.