Telangana: Only 6000 electric vehicles sold under FAME scheme

Hyderabad: Only 6,316 electric vehicles (EVs) have been sold in Telangana as part of the FAME (Faster Adoption of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) India scheme.

As of December 9, sales under the FAME initiative in the Telangana state were the lowest when compared to other states like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

Karnataka topped all states by selling 33,483 electric vehicles, followed by Tamil Nadu which sold 24,638 electric vehicles, and Maharashtra sold 20,955 electric vehicles. A total of 1.78 lakh EVs complying with the FAME initiative have been sold across the country, minister of state for heavy industries Krishan Pal Gurjar said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on November 28.

In a separate reply, the minister said sales of electric automobiles have been affected in the last two years due to the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

“Production and sales of automobiles have been impacted due to lockdown imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19,” he added.

Whereas, the number of FAME-installed EV charging stations in Telangana state is the second-most in the country. Telangana has 56 EV charging stations, behind Delhi which has installed 94 EV charging stations. Under the FAME project, 452 EV charging stations were installed across India.

What is FAME scheme?

In March 2015, the union government of India announced the FAME-I India scheme to encourage the use of electric vehicles. Based on the outcome and experience gained during Phase-I and after having consultations with all stakeholders the union government of India the Phase-II of the FAME India scheme; which will be in effect for five years, The scheme came into an effect on April 1, 2019, with a total budgetary contribution of Rs 10,000 crore.

Phase-II focuses and aims to support electric vehicle buyers through subsidies. The union government aims to provide subsidies to 7,000 e-buses, five lakh e-three wheelers, 55,000 e-four-wheeler (passenger cars), and 10 lakh e-two wheelers. In addition, installing charging infrastructure is also supported under subsidy.

Electric vehicle charging in Hyderabad will cost Rs 12 per kWh

As the Telangana state government expedites the process of setting up public charging stations, those who own electric vehicles (EVs) will soon be able to charge their vehicles for Rs 12.06 kilowatt per hour (kWh) as service costs.

With the support of government incentives, roughly 118 public vehicle charging stations are being constructed across Hyderabad, according to the Telangana State Renewable Energy Development Corporation (TSREDCO). These charging stations will be built as part of the FAME II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) program.

The Department of Heavy Industries has suggested this strategy to encourage the usage of electric vehicles by providing accessible charging stations. Apart from Hyderabad, another 20 public charging stations will be built in Warangal and Karimnagar, bringing the total number of public charging stations to 138. In Hyderabad city, there are already a few private charging stations. Officials stated that all of these will be ready by March.