PMO has suggested that the proposed subsidy should be given for batteries to make them more affordable.
NEW DELHI: Government may rework the policy on Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME-II) as PM Narendra Modi has indicated that the focus should be on reducing the cost of batteries and not on vehicles.
According to sources, PMO has suggested that the proposed subsidy should be given for batteries to make them more affordable. At present, the subsidy is meant for buying the electric vehicles.The move will come as a jolt for the auto industry that has been lobbying hard for concessions and upfront subsidies, arguing that the business is not sustainable otherwise.
Car makers were expecting the sops at the two-day Move Summit that begins on Friday but the package is unlikely to come through at present. Batteries account for 50% of the cost of electric vehicles, sources said.The Prime Minister will listen to views and then take a final decision on FAME-II,” Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Thursday.
Kant also indicated that the government will be more comfortable to offer incentives for two-wheelers, apart from three-wheelers and public transport. “We are not America. Two-wheelers account for 76% of vehicles in the country. Two-wheelers consume 64% of the fuel sold in the country.
Power secretary A K Bhalla said the government was also starting the process to set up charging stations along the highways, without which the electric vehicle policy will be a non-starter. Road transport secretary Y S Malik said wayside amenities coming up along national highways will have the provision of charging infrastructure.
An inter-ministerial panel had recently approved the second phase of FAME with proposed allocation of about Rs 5,500 crore for the next five years.
Courtesy : The Economic Times