The Ministry of Heavy Industry (MHI) on Tuesday (November 19) has again started giving subsidy on electric three-wheelers under the PM e-Drive scheme. Under the scheme, a subsidy of Rs 50,000 is given by the government on the purchase of an electric three-wheeler.
The annual limit on the number of subsidized electric three wheelers under the scheme was reached for this financial year (FY2025). Therefore, the central government had stopped giving subsidies for FY2025. MHI has now sanctioned more funds for electric three wheelers than the entire budget of the scheme.
The amount of subsidy given next year will be adjusted The additional amount used to subsidize E-3W in FY2025 will be adjusted from next year's budget. Industry officials have expressed concern that the FY2026 funds will also be exhausted by the first quarter of the fiscal year.
However, the amount of subsidy to be given on how many vehicles has not been disclosed. The ministry gave this information after the National Conference on Electric Vehicles. PM's advisor Tarun Kapoor and FICCI President Anish Shah etc. were present in it.
The plan was started only last month The Union Cabinet had launched this scheme only last month to promote the sale of electric vehicles. In this, PM e-Drive Scheme was approved with an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore for battery-powered two-wheelers, ambulances, trucks and three-wheelers.
It will be applicable from 1 October 2024 to 31 March 2026. Under the new scheme, subsidy of up to Rs 10,000 is being given on electric two-wheelers. Under PM e-Drive, 100% support will be provided for charging infrastructure at 88,500 sites.
Subsidy available under PM e-Drive Scheme
| vehicle type | quantity | Subsidy (per kWh) | total expenses |
| electric two-wheeler (e2w) | 24.79 lakh |
First year – ₹5000 (total ₹10,000) Second year – ₹2500 (total ₹10,000) |
₹1,772 crore |
| Electric Three-Wheelers (e3w) | 3.16 lakh |
First year – ₹50,000 Second year – ₹25,000 |
₹907 crore |
| electric buses | 14,028 | amount not decided | ₹4,391 crore |
| hybrid ambulance | not fix | amount not decided | ₹500 crore |
Subsidy amount on e-buses not fixed Union Minister Kumaraswamy said that the amount of subsidy for electric buses has not been decided. He said the target is to achieve 10% EV penetration in the two-wheeler segment and 15% EV penetration in the three-wheeler segment by the end of the plan.
The Union Minister said that electric cars and hybrid vehicles have not been included in the PM e-Drive scheme. Electric cars are already taxed at a lower GST slab of 5%. Apart from this, benefits are also available under the Auto PLI Scheme.
Aadhaar certified e-vouchers will be ready Under the scheme, the Heavy Industry Ministry will offer e-vouchers for EV buyers. Aadhaar authenticated e-vouchers will be generated for buyers on the scheme portal at the time of purchasing the vehicle. This voucher will ensure that there is no irregularity in giving subsidy to the buyer from the dealership.
Focus on charging infrastructure The government's focus is on strengthening the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in India. Therefore, under the scheme, more than 18% of the total outlay has been reserved for charging. Under the scheme, there are plans to install 22,100 fast chargers for electric 4-wheelers, 1,800 fast chargers for E-buses and 48,400 fast chargers for electric 2-wheelers/3-wheelers.
13,21,800 EVs given subsidy under FAME-II scheme
PM e-Drive follows the second phase of rapid adoption and manufacturing of electric vehicles, which ran for five years and ends on March 31, 2024. During that period, 13,21,800 EVs were subsidized under the FAME-II scheme with a total outlay of Rs 11,500 crore.
The scheme was later replaced by the Rs 500 crore Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS) 2024, which was valid for four months and extended till September 31, 2024.
Graphics Source: VaskarAssets
