Indian government commits Rs 1.05 billion to purchase EVs

The Indian government has announced grants worth Rs 1.05 billion to smart cities for purchasing electric vehicles (EVs) and developing charging infrastructure. Cities with populations greater than 1 million are eligible for this. The vehicles will be used for mass transportation for a pilot project under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) programme. The Department of Heavy Industry has already issued a notice inviting EoIs from state government departments, undertakings, municipal corporations and public authorities for innovative proposals that involve multimodal public transportation based on a purely electric power train. The funds can be used for procuring electric buses (Rs 10 million-Rs 15 million per bus), electric four-wheeler cars (Rs 76,000-Rs 138,000 per car), and electric three-wheelers (Rs 37,000-Rs 61,000 per three-wheeler).