SMEV hails govt's decision to extend FAME II certificate validity

Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) on Tuesday welcomed the government's move to extend the validity of the FAME II certification for one year. The Department of Heavy Industry on Monday extended by one year the eligibility certificates issued by testing agencies and approvals for electric vehicles given by the National Automotive Board (NAB) and DHI that were valid till March 31, 2021.

Originally, manufacturers were required to submit re-validation certificates for availing of demand incentives under FAME-II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) scheme.

"This measure would provide much-needed relief to OEMs who were unable to sell their inventory till March 31, 2021," SMEV Director General Sohinder Gill said in a statement.

He, however, said the EV industry is "awaiting the government's decision on the other important policy interventions to support E mobility".

"Few initiatives that can catalyse a significant growth in electric vehicles are starting a major EV awareness campaign across India, mandating delivery vehicles to convert to electric and the extension of FAME II by another 3 years. An early decision and announcement of these measures would attract investments into the sector and help in the development of the local supply chain," he said.

In 2019, the government had announced an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore for the FAME II scheme for a period of three years till 2022. The scheme had envisaged supporting 10 lakh electric two-wheelers, 5 lakh three-wheelers, 55,000 four-wheelers and 7,000 buses.