The PM E-DRIVE program in India has been prolonged to 2028 to support outstanding EV projects.

In a move to provide more time for the completion of significant EV projects, the Government of India has prolonged the PM E-Drive (Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement) scheme to March 2028, as many outstanding EV projects are in pipeline and needs to be implemented fast in order to enhance the EV infrastructure in the country. 

PM E-Drive Current Status 

The scheme which was set to be concluded in March 2026 will be now allocating the remaining funds from the total Rs 10,900 crore allocation, as no additional funding has been provided by the government. 

However the extended time allotted for the scheme is to ensure that the pending EV infrastructure projects and deployment efforts are completed, but the subsidy support for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers will be over as scheduled in March 2026. The extra time given will just give a boost to outstanding infrastructure projects while the consumer benefits will be terminated till end. 

The PM E-Drive scheme was introduced in October 2024 approved by the Cabinet with an aim to accelerate EV transition across the country with a wide range of vehicles such as two and three-wheelers, electric buses, ambulances, trucks, and charging infrastructure. 

Discussing the financial year 2024-25, the program thrived across all sectors and achieved outstanding outcomes as India recorded an unprecedented sale of over 5.7 lakh electric two-wheelers, along with a significant rise in electric three-wheeler vehicles and L5 segment adoption, thus accelerating India’s green revolution. 

Implications of Revised Timeline 

The revised timeline can bring a change in momentum, with the focus now shifted towards completion of pending EV infrastructure projects, ensuring the effective optimization of the remaining funds, so that the particular projects could be seamlessly completed till the extended timeline. 

The process of EV deployment will be continued, while the upfront subsidies provided for EV adoption could see a potential end, apart from this, the main aim of the government tends to remain the same by helping in mainstream transitioning of EVs for net-zero emissions without the need of an excess budget allocation.