RAS question
Under India's FAME-II scheme, which was its primary objective?
Correct answer: (D) Faster adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles.
India's FAME-II scheme primarily aimed to accelerate the adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles in the country.
Explanation
FAME-II was the second phase of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India scheme, implemented from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2024. The Ministry of Heavy Industries release states that FAME-II's first key objective was to encourage the adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles through market creation, demand aggregation and related activities. Accelerating electric and hybrid vehicle adoption was therefore the scheme's core purpose. FAME-II had a Rs. 10,000 crore outlay for five years, supported EV subsidies, charging infrastructure and e-buses, and was followed by the PM E-DRIVE scheme in 2024. The scheme was therefore about shifting vehicle demand and infrastructure towards electric and hybrid mobility, not conventional transport construction.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Developing bullet trains is outside FAME-II's electric and hybrid vehicle adoption mandate and belongs to a separate Japan-India project.
- (B) Highway construction is not the focus of FAME-II; Bharatmala, not FAME-II, is associated with highways.
- (C) FAME-II promoted electric and hybrid vehicles, so promoting fossil fuel vehicles would contradict the scheme's stated objective.
Concept
Government schemes in science and technology often cover clean mobility and electric-vehicle policy. RAS gives importance to such schemes because they connect technology, environment, infrastructure and current policy implementation.