The government has prolonged the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme by one year, setting the new end date as March 31, 2028.

At the same time, incentives for electric two-wheelers (e2Ws) have been reduced by half, from ₹5,000 per kWh to ₹2,500 per kWh.

The incentive will now be limited to ₹5,000 per electric two-wheeler, down from ₹10,000 per vehicle in FY25. It will apply to electric two-wheelers with an ex-factory price of up to ₹1.5 lakh.

The total budget for the scheme remains fixed at ₹11,900 crore, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Heavy Industries.

Initially introduced in September 2024, the scheme was scheduled to run until March 31, 2027.

The government has earmarked around ₹2,767 crore in incentives for registered electric two-wheelers (e2Ws).

As per the official notification, the scheme has the capacity to support up to 45,79,120 registered electric two-wheelers.

The incentive is further capped at 15 per cent of the ex-factory price of an e2W or e3W, whichever amount is lower.

The government stated that the incentive per kWh may be adjusted in line with decreases in vehicle costs and will be announced periodically.

The PM E-DRIVE scheme is designed to speed up the adoption of electric vehicles, establish charging infrastructure, and strengthen the electric vehicle manufacturing ecosystem across the country.

The Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS) 2024, in effect from April 1 to September 30, 2024, was incorporated into the PM E-DRIVE initiative.

The government announced that the scheme operates with limited financial resources, capping total payouts at the overall allocation of ₹11,900 crore.

The notification stated that if the funds for the scheme or any of its components are fully utilised before March 31, 2028, that specific component will be discontinued and no additional claims will be processed.