The report, submitted by the panel earlier this month, counters findings of an earlier probe by a joint secretary in the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) that said some key terms in the FAME were not clearly defined.
The December 2023 report by the joint secretary was not accepted by the Centre, which ordered a fresh probe in February.
Electric two-wheeler (e2w) makers have cited the previous rejected report to delay repayment of subsidies they were accused of wrongfully availing.
"The December 2023 report is vague, incomplete and suffered from numerous shortcomings, and contradictions such as failure to properly consider the scheme guidelines and failure to examine any officials," one of the officials cited above said, adding that this had prompted a fresh probe.
"It has been effectively concluded that the whole scheme notifications and guidelines were clear and well understood by all relevant stakeholders, including test agencies, EV makers and MHI," the official said, adding that the latest report has pointed out the numerous gaps, limitations and shortcomings in the December 2023 report.
Besides studying the FAME II guidelines, this high-level committee has also examined the role of government functionaries, which allowed the subsidy disbursals without establishing competence of beneficiaries, officials said.
The government launched the first FAME scheme in 2015 with a budget of INR 895 crore. FAME II, an expanded iteration of the programme, was rolled out in 2019 with an outlay INR 10,000 crore. These schemes were aimed at supporting the sale of electric vehicles (EV) made in the country.
Subsidy disbursals in the programme were linked to a phased manufacturing programme (PMP), which ensured higher localisation as years passed. While companies did not adhere to the PMP, they continued seeking FAME subsidy, defeating the intent of the scheme.
The government, after an initial probe, sent out recovery notices in the current fiscal (2023-24) totalling INR 469 crore to seven companies for violating local sourcing norms. Amounts wrongly claimed were disbursed for sales made from 2020 to 2023.
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