Recharging e-two-wheelers

New policy may force the industry to live without subsidies

The much-awaited successor to the second edition of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric (and Hybrid) Vehicles, or FAME II, has caught the e-two-wheeler industry by surprise. Under the Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS), the government has halved the subsidy on e-two-wheelers, limited the number of vehicles it will cover, and restricted the duration of the scheme to four months — from April 1 to July 31. Though the industry had expected a rollback of sorts, the EMPS suggests the government has hit the brakes harder and earlier than expected. Under the EMPS, the subsidy on electric two-wheelers has been