New Delhi (NVI): The government has sanctioned 670 electric buses for Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat and Chandigarh Phase-II of the ‘FAME India’ Scheme, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said.
He also announced that 241 charging stations in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat and Port Blair have been sanctioned under the scheme.
Javadekar further said, “This is a big push to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of eco-friendly public transportation.”
Announcing this in a series of tweet, the Union Minister said that the decision reflects government’s commitment to reduce dependence on fossil fuel and to address issues of vehicular emissions.
Happy to announce sanction of 670 Ebuses in Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat & Chandigarh & 241 Charging Stations in MP, TN, Kerala, Gujarat & Port Blair under Phase-II of #FAME India Scheme.This is in line with PM @narendramodi ji’s vision to push for eco-friendly public transportation pic.twitter.com/A76yokEYg2
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) September 25, 2020
He also said Maharashtra has been sanctioned 240 E-buses of which 100 E-buses each are for MSRTC’s Intercity and Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport and 40 E-buses are for BEST-Mumbai, adding that, 100 electric buses have been sanctioned for Goa’s Kadamba Transport Corporation.
Javadekar further added, these environment friendly e-buses for the intercity services of Goa would help protect the environment as well as improve mobility.
The Minister said, 250 electric buses have also been sanctioned for Gujarat of which 150 e-buses are for Surat Municipal Corporation and 100 e-buses for Rajkot Rajpath Limited.
Since April 2015, the Department of Heavy Industries (DHI) under Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, is administering the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) Scheme, to promote adoption of electric or hybrid vehicles in the country.
“In the first phase of the scheme upto March 31 last year, about 2,80,987 hybrid and electric vehicles were supported by way of demand incentive, amounting to about Rs 359 crore,” the Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises said in a statement.
Further, DHI sanctioned 425 electric and hybrid buses to various cities in the country with total cost of about Rs 280 Crores, it added.
Moreover, the DHI had also sanctioned 520 Charging Stations for Rs 43 Crore in cities like Bangalore, Chandigarh, Jaipur and NCR of Delhi under Phase-I of FAME-India Scheme.
At present, Phase-II of FAME India Scheme is being implemented for a period of 3 years with effect from April, 2019 with a total budgetary support of Rs 10,000 crore, the ministry stated.
However, this phase focuses on supporting electrification of public and shared transportation and aims to support, through subsidies, approximately 7,000 e-Buses, 5 lakh e-3 Wheelers, 55,000 e-4 Wheeler Passenger Cars and 10 lakh e-2 Wheelers.
“In addition, creation of charging infrastructure is also supported to address the anxiety among users of electric vehicles,” it noted.
-RJV
