Budget outlay up 6x to push e-mobility: Heavy Inds Min

The central government has increased the budgetary outlay for the Ministry of Heavy Industries 6x times in the last two years to encourage and prioritise e-mobility in India, a senior ministry official has said.

Speaking at an event organised by India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) in Delhi on April 1, 2024, Vijay Mittal, joint secretary, Department of Heavy Industries says the government has been looking at both the demand side and supply side growth to provide a comprehensive push to e-mobility. “The support of the government through the Ministry of Heavy Industries to the Advanced Chemistry Cells (ACC) or for that matter e-mobility is evident by the fact that ministry had a budget of Rs 1,180 crore, in 2021-22, which grew by 3X to Rs 3,000 crore in 2022-23 and grew another 2X to Rs 6,000 crore for 2023-24. The government of India has gone 6X in last two years, in terms of financial support to the e-mobility and capital goods sectors,” Mittal says.

According to Mittal, the government focused on creating demand in the e-mobility sector by bringing in Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME-India) Scheme 1 and FAME 2 and by planning FAME 3 for the near future. For the supply side push, he cites the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for automobiles and later ACC. Going ahead, the government will be looking to support the development of a complete ACC ecosystem instead of mere assembling of components in the country, he adds. “We are looking to have something which originates in the country right from the R&D and is manufactured out of indigenous plant and machinery and reaches the last mile,” he says.

Mittal also stresses the need for indigenous R&D to develop breakthrough technology within the country. He points out that the government order in February 2023 restricting technology transfer from land border sharing countries apply to sectors like ACC also. “Some technologies should not be procured from those countries in the overall interest of the country and to give importance to our own R&D institutions. ACC manufacturing is one such niche technology where we need to be self-sufficient,” Mittal explains.