In effort to boost green transportation, govt approves 5,595 e-buses in 64 cities under FAME India scheme

According to an official release on 8 August, the government has approved sanction of 5,595 electric buses to 64 cities under the phase two of Faster Adoption and Manufacture of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles (FAME) India scheme. The move comes as a part of the Indian government’s efforts to encourage clean mobility in public transportation, an official statement said.

India goes EV to clean up its cities! The list of 64 Indian cities that will have 5595 electric buses operating on its roads under FAME -2 scheme. These buses will run 4 billion Kms, save cumulatively 1.2 billion litres of fuel & avoid 2.6 mln tonnes of CO2 emissions. pic.twitter.com/wN5KCzp9JC

— Amitabh Kant (@amitabhk87) August 8, 2019

Business Standard reported that Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad got the highest number of buses at 300 each. The Department of Heavy Industry had invited expressions of interest (EOIs) from million-plus cities, smart cities, state/UT capitals and cities from special-category states. This was done for finalising the proposal for deploying e-buses on an operational cost basis. After evaluation, apart from sanctioning 5,095 e-buses to 64 cities/state transport corporations for intra-city operation, the government also sanctioned 400 e-buses for intercity operation and 100 e-buses for last-mile connectivity to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. The release highlighted that these buses will run about 4 billion kilometers during their contract period and are expected to save cumulatively about 1.2 billion liters of fuel over the contract period, this avoiding 2.6 million tonnes of CO2 emission. Meanwhile, the government is putting its efforts into encouraging eco-friendly mobility. In a recent decision, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman announced additional tax relief of Rs 1.5 lakh on the interest paid on loans availed for purchasing electric vehicles. Policies such as this are aimed at enabling the middle class to make a shift to electric mobility.