India has provided incentives for over 1.6 million electric vehicles under its Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles scheme, also called FAME-II, as of March 11, a top government official said on Tuesday.

FAME-II, launched in April 2019 with a budget of 11,500 crore rupees ($1.4 billion), aims to promote EV adoption through subsidies and infrastructure support.

According to the Ministry of Heavy Industries, 1.43 million two-wheelers, 164,523 three-wheelers and 22,548 four-wheelers have benefited from the scheme.

Additionally, 6,862 electric buses were sanctioned for various states and cities under the program. Of these, 5,135 buses have been supplied as of Feb. 28, 2025.

Minister of State for Steel and Heavy Industries Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma gave this information in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

Expansion of EV Charging Infrastructure

The scheme also supports EV infrastructure development. The MHI sanctioned ₹800 crore rupees to state-run oil marketing companies — Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. — to establish 7,432 public charging stations.

Another 73.5 crore rupees were allocated in March 2024 to upgrade 980 existing charging stations, with an additional 400 sanctioned to various entities across states.

To further strengthen India’s EV ecosystem, the government is implementing multiple schemes, including the Production Linked Incentive schemes for automobiles, advanced battery storage, and electric car manufacturing.

The recently introduced PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement scheme, also called PM E-DRIVE, with an outlay of ₹10,900 crore, aims to support a range of EV categories, including electric trucks, ambulances and public charging infrastructure.

Another major initiative, the PM e-Bus Sewa-Payment Security Mechanism scheme, launched in October 2024 with a budget of ₹3,435.33 crore, aims to facilitate the deployment of over 38,000 electric buses by providing financial security to operators in case of public transport authorities’ payment defaults.

Boosting Domestic EV Manufacturing

Meanwhile, the Scheme for the Promotion of Manufacturing of Electric Passenger Cars in India, launched in March 2024, requires automakers to invest at least ₹4,150 crore and meet domestic value addition targets to receive incentives.

The government’s push for electrification is part of its broader strategy to reduce carbon emissions and enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities in the EV sector.