An electric scooter’s subsidy is meant to appear before the buyer pays: the purchase price falls, and the manufacturer later seeks reimbursement. That mechanism has linked successive Indian electric-mobility schemes, from FAME in 2015 to PM E-DRIVE. By October 2026, the newer programme had reported 26.59 lakh vehicle sales through June, while its budget and deadlines had been revised again. [1] [6]
The policy began before FAME. At its April 2015 launch, the Heavy Industries Ministry traced it to the electric-mobility mission approved in 2011 and the national plan released in January 2013. Modi’s government turned that earlier framework into a subsidy programme and subsequently expanded it. [1]
The FAME record
FAME’s first phase ran from April 2015 to March 2019. The ministry reported support for about 2.8 lakh electric and hybrid vehicles. Phase II followed from April 2019 to March 2024, with an eventual ₹11,500 crore outlay. A March 2026 parliamentary reply recorded 16,71,606 supported vehicle sales and, separately, 5,195 electric buses deployed by 31 January 2026. [2]
Those figures describe the scheme’s reach, rather than the number of purchases caused solely by subsidy. Battery prices, manufacturers’ products, state policies and operating costs also enter a buyer’s decision.
Domestic manufacturing conditions brought an enforcement problem. The National Automotive Board’s 2024–25 accounts recorded localisation-rule violations involving six manufacturers and demands to refund ₹468.80 crore. Three had refunded ₹190.89 crore including interest; recovery from the other three was disputed in court at the report’s date. These were specific findings and proceedings, rather than grounds to label every subsidised vehicle non-compliant. [3]
A successor with changing limits
PM E-DRIVE was notified in September 2024 with an original ₹10,900 crore outlay and an October start. The intervening EMPS programme, covering April–September 2024, was subsequently absorbed into it. An August 2026 amendment raised the outlay to ₹11,900 crore and extended two-wheeler support to March 2028. The L5 three-wheeler component had already closed on 26 December 2025 after reaching its sales target. [4] [5]
Progress varied by component. Parliamentary scrutiny in March found most incentivised vehicles were two- and three-wheelers; buses, trucks and ambulances had recorded no achievement in its January snapshot. That incentivised count is a different measure from the larger sold-vehicle totals in ministry updates. [7]
By August, 14,000 buses had been allocated under PM E-DRIVE. By 28 September, ₹851 crore had been approved for 8,147 chargers. Allocation and approval describe commitments, rather than buses carrying passengers or chargers delivering electricity. Alongside subsidised sales, the programme’s next visible milestones will be those vehicles entering service and those charging points becoming usable. [6]