Where FAME II Left Off
The FAME II scheme concluded its ₹10,000 Cr outlay in 2024, having supported approximately 7,500 public EV charging stations and subsidising over 1.5 million electric two-wheelers. The scheme's charging infrastructure component was broadly considered underspent relative to vehicle subsidies — a structural imbalance that FAME III is expected to address by directing a larger proportion of its corpus toward public charging and grid integration rather than purchase incentives alone.
Early indications on FAME III suggest a significantly larger allocation — estimates range from ₹25,000 to ₹40,000 Cr over five years — with eligibility criteria that favour charging operators who can demonstrate utilisation, uptime performance, and interoperability with other networks. The shift from subsidy-on-installation to performance-linked disbursement is a meaningful change for operators who have been deploying low-utilisation infrastructure purely for subsidy capture.
State Policy: Where Execution Happens
Central policy sets the framework, but state-level tariffs and incentives determine actual project economics for most operators. Three states have emerged as particularly progressive environments for EV charging investment:
- Karnataka: BESCOM's dedicated EV tariff at ₹5/kWh for public chargers, combined with net-metering rates up to 90% of retail tariff, makes Bengaluru one of the most economically attractive EV charging markets in India.
- Maharashtra: MSEDCL's time-of-use tariff structure, with off-peak rates below ₹4/kWh from 10 pm–6 am, creates strong incentives for overnight depot charging and smart scheduling.
- Telangana: 100% stamp duty exemption on EV charging infrastructure land parcels and capital subsidy of up to ₹2 lakhs per DC fast charger in Tier-2 towns.
The most consequential policy development of 2024 for EV charging operators was not FAME-related — it was the RBI's inclusion of EV charging infrastructure in the Priority Sector Lending (PSL) category. PSL status reduces effective borrowing costs by 150–250 basis points for qualifying lenders, which translates directly into lower-cost project financing for operators and lower EMIs for end borrowers.
What Operators Should Do in the Current Window
The policy environment for EV charging infrastructure is more favourable than it has ever been, and several incentives have fixed end dates. Accelerated Depreciation at 40% in year 1 for BESS and solar assets remains available under current Income Tax rules and should be structured into any project with a corporate operator. DISCOM EV tariff registration in most states takes 3–6 months — operators planning deployments in the next financial year should file now. And PSL financing applications are best submitted with detailed asset telemetry plans, since lenders are increasingly asking how they will monitor asset performance — an area where EVBooth's platform can directly support financing discussions.