GS Paper II

News Excerpt:

The Ministry of Heavy Industries has approved 11 Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturers to receive incentives under the recently introduced Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS) 2024.

More about the news:

• A total of 11 firms have been approved for the EMPS, with several more under consideration.
• The scheme aims to sustain the growth in EV sales, replacing the former Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles – II (FAME-II) scheme.
• The new scheme, with an allocation of Rs 500 crore, commenced on April 1 and will continue till July 31.

Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme 2024 (EMPS 2024):

• The EMPS scheme was introduced by the Ministry of Heavy Industries to further accelerate the adoption of EVs in the country. 
• This is a fund-limited scheme with a total outlay of Rs. 500 crore for 4 months, w.e.f. 1st April 2024 till 31st July 2024.
• The scheme aims for faster adoption of electric two-wheelers (e-2W) and three-wheelers (e-3W) to provide further impetus to the green mobility and development of the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing ecosystem in the country. 
• The Scheme promotes an efficient, competitive, and resilient EV manufacturing industry in the country thereby promoting the vision of Aatma-Nirbhar Bharat. 
• For this purpose, the Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) has been adopted which encourages domestic manufacturing and strengthening of the EV supply chain. 
• The scheme will also create significant employment opportunities along the value chain.

Eligible EV categories

• Two Wheelers (electric) (e-2W).

• Three-wheeler (electric) including registered e-rickshaws & e-carts and L5 (e-3W).

• With greater emphasis on providing affordable and environment-friendly public transportation options for the masses, the scheme will apply mainly to those e-2W and e-3Ws registered for commercial purposes. 
• Further, in addition to commercial use, privately or corporate-owned registered e-2W will also be eligible under the scheme.
• No such benefits are extended to electric four-wheelers (e4W) and e-buses under the EMPS scheme. 
• The exclusion of e4W and e-buses from the EMPS is due to existing schemes like the Auto Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme and PM-eBus Sewa Scheme catering to these categories.

EV sales data:

• EV sales this year have seen a significant increase of over 45 percent.
• EV registrations in 2023 nearly reached 1.5 million units, a substantial rise from the previous year’s figure of just over 1 million units.
• This growth has propelled the overall EV penetration in India to 6.3% from 4.8% in 2022, exceeding the 5% mark.