The key initiatives/achievements/events of Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) during the year are as under:

Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II Scheme

The Government is committed to provide clean and green public transport and is implementing the Phase-II of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing Electric Vehicles (FAME-II) scheme with the aim to reduce dependence on fossil fuel and to address the issue of vehicular emissions. The Scheme had an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crores over a Five years’ period from 01/04/2019. The proposal for enhancement of outlay of “Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II” from Rs. 10,000 crores to Rs. 11,500 crores has been examined by Department of Expenditure (DoE) and approved considering the objectives of the Scheme. This phase mainly focuses on supporting electrification of public & shared transportation, and aims to support through demand incentive e-vehicles including e-buses. In addition, creation of charging infrastructure is also supported under the Scheme.

Demand incentives for e-2W, e-3W & e-4W by MHI:

Under Phase II of FAME India Scheme, subsidy amounting to Rs. 5,228 crore has been given to electric vehicle manufacturers on sale of 11,53,079 numbers of electric vehicles as on 01.12.2023.

Demand incentives for e-buses by MHI:

Under FAME – II as on date, various STU’s/CTU’s/ Municipal corporations have placed Supply Orders for 3390 e-buses against quantities sanctioned by MHI. Out of those, 3037 e-buses have been deployed till now. Further, another 3,472 e-buses case is being dealt through Convergence Energy Services Ltd. (CESL) under the aggregation model of NITI Aayog. Out of these 3,472 e-buses, 454 electric buses have been deployed. Thus, under FAME-II scheme, a total of 3390+3472=6862 e-buses will be eventually deployed in the various States.

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations:

A total of 148 EV Public Charging Stations (PCS) have been commissioned. On 28.3.2023 MHI announced sanction of Rs.800 crores under FAME II to the PSU Oil Marketing Companies (OMC) - Indian Oil (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) - for setting up 7432 public fast charging stations across the country.

Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Automobile and Auto Components

With the aim to enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities and exports in the automobile and the automobile components sector, government approved a ‘Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme’ for this sector with a total outlay of Rs. 25,938 crores over a period of 5 years. The PLI Scheme proposes financial incentives to boost domestic manufacturing of ‘Advanced Automotive Technology’ (AAT) products and attract investments in the automotive manufacturing value chain. Its prime objectives include overcoming cost disabilities, creating economies of scale and building a robust supply chain in areas of Advanced Automotive Technology products. It will also generate employment. This scheme will facilitate the Automobile Industry to move up the value chain into higher value-added products. 18 companies under ‘Champion OEM’ category and 67 companies under ‘Component Champion’ category, approved under the Scheme, are implementing the PLI Auto Programme. Total estimated investment to be made by the implementing firms is to the tune of Rs. 67,690 crores. Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for certification of Domestic Value Addition (DVA) has also been prepared and shared with approved PLI applicants on 27.4.2023. Total investment of Rs. 11,958 crores have been reported till Q2 of FY 2023-24. Tata Motors and M&M have been issued Advanced Automotive Technology (AAT) and Domestic Value Addition (DVA) certificates.

PLI Scheme for Advance Chemistry Cell (ACC), Battery Storage in India

To enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities and exports for the manufacture of Advance Chemistry Cell (ACC) in India, Government approved a ‘Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme’ for setting up manufacturing facilities for Advance Chemistry Cell (ACC), Battery Storage in India, with an outlay of Rs. 18,100 crores for 7 years. The Scheme aims to enhance India’s Manufacturing Capabilities and Enhancing Exports-for manufacture of Advance Chemistry Cell (ACC) in India and envisages incentivizing large domestic and international players in establishing a competitive ACC battery set-up in the country. Three of the approved firms under the Scheme have signed the Programme Agreement to implement the PLI ACC Programme for setting up manufacturing facilities of 30 GWh ACC capacity. Total estimated investment to be made by the implementing firms is approx. Rs. 14,810 crore for 30 GWh capacity. The scheme would give an impetus to the ACC manufacturing ecosystem in the country to meet the growing demand. Re-bidding for balance 20 GWh is under process.

GST Concession Certificate

Issue of GST Concession Certificate to orthopedically disabled persons is one of the important services provided by MHI under its Citizen's Charter. As a step towards Digital India, an online portal for issuing Aadhar   Authenticated GST concession certificate was launched by MHI in November 2020. The development of online portal has improved the quality of service rendered by this Ministry. This IT enabled initiative has helped streamlining the process and facilitated issue of 2985 GST Concession Certificates in 11 months' period from January 2023 to November 2023 (highest ever in the last five-year period). A total of 5513 GST Concession Certificates were issued in current and last year through this portal.

Scheme on Enhancement of Competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector- Phase-II

On 25.01.2022, MHI has notified the ‘Scheme on Enhancement of Competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector- Phase-II’ for providing assistance to Common Technology Development and Services Infrastructure.

The scheme has a financial outlay of Rs. 1207 crores with budgetary support of Rs.975 crore and Industry Contribution of Rs.232 crore. There are six components under the Scheme for Enhancement of Capital Goods Sector Phase II, namely:

1. Identification of Technologies through Technology Innovation Portals;
2. Setting up of four New Advanced Centres of Excellence and augmentation of Existing Centres of Excellence;
3. Promotion of skilling in Capital Goods Sector–creation of Qualification packages for skill levels 6 and above;
4. Setting up of four Common Engineering Facility Centres (CEFCs) and augmentation of existing CEFCs;
5. Augmentation of Existing Testing and Certification Centres;
6. Setting up of ten Industry Accelerators for Technology Development

A total of 32 projects with total project cost of Rs. 1363.78 crores (due to higher contribution by Project Implementing Organizations) have been sanctioned so far under the Phase-II of the Scheme for Enhancement of Competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector and Rs.232.17 crores have already been released for the approved projects so far under the Phase-II of the Scheme.

The implementation of the Scheme for Enhancement of Competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector Phase-II would lead to increase in investments in manufacturing sector, indigenization of technologies and creation / augmentation of common service infrastructure / Testing facilities.

Other Important Initiatives:

• Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed by Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) with Advance Mobility Transformation & Innovation Foundation (AMTIF) for facilitating startup and innovation ecosystem of Automobile. AMTIF is setting up Accelerator on Automobile related technologies sanctioned by MHI under the Phase-II of the Scheme for Enhancement of Competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector. During the event, AMTIF exchanged MoU with ten Industry Partners and startups selected under umbrella of Industrial Accelerator.
• An event for promotion of electric mobility, ‘towards Panchamrit’ was inaugurated and addressed by Union Minister of Heavy Industries at International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), Manesar on 4th February, 2023. The event also included conference and exposition on initiatives taken by MHI to promote automotive industry. The event was attended by more than 2200 participants from Auto Industry, Academia, Other Ministries, Departments and students.
• MHI participated in the First Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG), G20 meeting held from 13th to 15th February, 2023 in Lucknow. The event was inaugurated in the presence of Union Minister of Heavy Industries, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Minister of Electronics & Information Technology, and Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Government   of India. In the exhibition, MHI portrayed its digital capabilities and initiatives through SAMARTH Centres developed under the MHI’s Scheme for “Enhancement of Competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector”.  Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) also showcased its initiatives on ‘Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)’ and Industry 4.0 during the event.

• BHEL signed MOUs with:

 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for long-term maintenance, repair, and operations support for Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) for Light Combat Aircraft ‘Tejas’.

 Munitions India Limited (MIL) for co-production and supply of ammunitions including smart ammunitions on 15th February 2023 during AERO show event at Bengaluru.

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, on 24th March, 2023, laid foundation stone of Centre of Excellence (CoE) on Machine Tools Design at IIT-BHU in collaboration with HMT funded by MHI under its scheme on ‘Enhancement of Competitiveness in the Indian Capital Goods Sector, Phase II’. In this CoE, IIT –BHU will develop the design of high-tech machine tools and create three new technologies, which are currently not available in the country. These techniques will be used in the fields of national defence, aerospace, power and energy sector, space technology, precision components machining etc. This CoE will help reduce imports of Rs.400 crore by the year 2030 and encourage domestic sourcing while making India self-reliant with a high degree of reliability and efficiency in design and development. This center will encourage startups and skill development and will also prove helpful in technical education and employment generation.

• BHEL has signed MOU with Indraprastha Gas Ltd. for joint collaboration for development, manufacturing & deployment of Type-IV Cylinders (CNG and/or Hydrogen), for city gas distribution and Fuel cell-based power backup systems. This MoU will assist in contributing towards the 'National Green Hydrogen Mission' of the Govt. of India.

• Minister of State (MoS) of Power & Heavy Industries, Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar inaugurated the Extension Centre of Common Engineering Facility Centre (CEFC), WRI Trichy at BHEL Haridwar on 23rd May, 2023. Shri Gurjar Commended Team BHEL’s technology, engineering & manufacturing capabilities, and appreciated BHEL’s role in contributing to the Prime Minister's vision of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

• MHI has worked with MEA and the United States (US) Government towards electric bus support program. This resulted in a joint statement of India and the US. President of USA, Mr. Joe Biden and Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi underscored the importance of decarbonizing the transportation sector, including by accelerating the deployment of zero emissions vehicles, continued collaboration to promote public and private financing for electric transportation, and the development of biofuels, including sustainable aviation fuels. The United States and India also announced plans to create a payment security mechanism that will facilitate the deployment of 10,000 made-in-India electric buses in India, augmenting India’s focused efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving public health, and diversifying the global supply chain.

• MHI organized ‘National Conference on Robotics’ on 3rd – 4th July, 2023 in Bengaluru in association with Central Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI), Bengaluru and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. The Conference was inaugurated by Union Minister of Heavy Industries Dr. Pandey and Minister of State of Heavy Industries. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi gave his message for this National Conference and expressed his best wishes for the same. The Conference brought together experts, researchers, industry leaders from across the country to discuss the progress, challenges and transformative potential of Robotics in the manufacturing sector.  The conference was attended by approx. 350 participants including heads of industry, leading companies, start-ups and academia.

• Dr. Pandey held a meeting with US Govt. delegation led by Mr. John Kerry, State Secretary, on 26th July, 2023 to discuss Payment Security Mechanism (PSM) and way forward regarding e-buses under FAME-India Scheme Phase-II.

• Union Minister, MHI inaugurated ‘Green BHEL’ (हरित बीएचईएल), an initiative for transforming BHEL into a Green Company with an objective to attain Net Zero by 2047.  

• 14 townships of BHEL spread across the nation have been certified as Single-use Plastic Free Zones for the last 3 years as a result of the various initiatives undertaken by BHEL under GoI's ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’

• MHI organized a conference on ‘Annual Performance Review’ of its 16 operational Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) at Vigyan Bhawan on 17.08.2023. CMDs & all Board of Directors of operating CPSEs including Independent Directors and senior officers of MHI participated in the Conference.  This review is part of the Ministry’s ongoing efforts to evaluate the efficacy of CPSEs towards fulfilling their core objectives, assessing their progress and achievements.

• BHEL has successfully manufactured India's first set of Selective Catalyst Reactors (SCR) for limiting NOx emissions for the 5x800 MW Yadadri Thermal Power Station in Telangana. Notably, it is a significant milestone under the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Government of India as these catalysts were hitherto being imported.

• Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey inaugurated and flagged off ‘The Green Plate EV rally’ organized by SIAM on 18th October 2023 in partnership with MHI at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi to showcase the advancements made by the Indian Automotive industry in the area of Electrification and also spread awareness and increase confidence among the customers on the excellent quality EV products available in the Indian market.

• MHI successfully completed its Special Campaign 3.0 on Swachhata from 2nd October to 31st October, 2023 and celebrated it as a cleanliness festival within the Ministry and across its CPSEs and ABs, at 781 campaign sites. Total revenue generated from the disposal of scrap is more than Rs. 5.78 Crores. MHI has secured following positions in Special Campaign 3.0:

                  -2nd Position in top 5 Ministries/Departments for Space Freed – 21.13 Lakh Sq.Feet.

-5th Position in top 5 Ministries/Departments for Records Weeded Out (Physical + e-Files)  63032 Files.

• Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, chaired a meeting on "मंथन-लोकल से ग्लोबल भारत-विनिर्माण से आत्मनिर्भरता," on November 22, 2023, at Yashobhoomi Convention Centre, New Delhi. The event was attended by various stakeholders and industry associations representing the automotive and capital goods sectors to review strategies to curb imports, enhance localization, and boost exports. The event had a special focus on understanding the opportunities available to enhance the pace of localization.

• Union Minister for Heavy Industries inaugurated “BHEL SAMVAAD 3.0 - अनुसन्धान से आत्मनिर्भरता की ओर, BHEL की एक और पहल” on 09.11.2023 organized by BHEL with an aim to promote indigenization of Imported Goods through discussions with domestic business partners, industry associations, academia, and research institutes. The Minister unveiled BHEL’s R&D compendium titled ‘Anusandhan se Aatmanirbharta’ and launched the MHI’s ‘Annual Capacity Building Plan (ACBP)’ for 2023-24. The ACBP outlines key strategic areas and focused capacity-building initiatives within the Ministry to enhance capability across all levels and achieve maximum governance, aligning with the PM’s vision of Mission Karmayogi.

• BHEL has signed a contract of Rs. 2956.89 Crore with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for the supply of 16 Upgraded Super Rapid Gun Mounts (SRGM). These will be installed on both in-service and newly built ships of the Indian Navy and will be manufactured at the Haridwar unit.

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BY/TFK