New Delhi, Nov. 15 -- The ministry of heavy industries has asked the finance ministry to shift the allocation for financial incentives to encourage the purchase of e-trucks and e-buses to next year's budget, according to two people aware of the development. No sops have been disbursed so far, and the government has now extended the incentive scheme by two years till FY28, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The extension of the scheme comes as e-truck manufacturers await approval of component localisation norms, while a tender for e-buses has been delayed. "Budget consultations for MHI with the finance ministry happened in October, a few weeks ago. MHI has asked that the outlay for e-trucks and e-buses under PM E-Drive (scheme) be shifted to the next year, and accordingly map the revised estimates," one person said. This is because most disbursals are likely to be done in FY27, the person said. The government had allotted Rs.4,391 crore towards e-buses and Rs.500 crore for e-trucks under PM E-Drive, the e-vehicle adoption scheme, which was set to run for two years from FY24 to FY26. The plan was to put 14,028 e-buses and 5,643 e-trucks on the road and disburse the entire amount - Rs.4,891 crore - by FY26. But in August, the government extended the scheme for e-trucks and e-buses after no disbursals were made in these vehicle segments. The cut-off date for other vehicle segments - electric two- and three-wheelers - remained the same. "OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) have faced challenges in meeting the localisation criteria this year. But the total allocation for each vehicle segment will remain the same," the second person said. Email queries to the ministry of heavy industries and the finance ministry on November 13 remained unanswered. The PM E-Drive scheme was created to reduce the cost of buying and using electric vehicles for consumers, with the government paying a part of the price. E-vehicles typically cost at least twice as much as fossil-fuel vehicles, although electric trucks and buses cost two to three times as much as their diesel equivalents. An electric bus costs Rs.1-1.25 crore or more, while a diesel bus may cost Rs.25-50 lakh, depending on size. Heavy electric trucks, above 12 tonnes in gross vehicle weight, are priced at Rs.1-1.5 crore compared with Rs.25-50 lakh for their diesel counterparts. Incentive disbursals for e-buses and e-trucks have faced hurdles. Truckmakers have not received localisation approvals four months after the guidelines on components were published, and busmakers have raised reservations about the country's largest e-bus tender for 10,900 e-buses, which has been delayed by at least three months. "OEMs have faced a tough time this year with supply chain disruptions, and given that India's supply chains are still growing," said Amit Bhatt, India director of the International Council on Clean Transportation, referring to the challenges of making components locally. "This could give a little more time to OEMs to meet localisation standards." Localisation norms under the PM E-Drive scheme are laid out in the phased manufacturing programme, which lists the components that manufacturers can import until a cutoff date. The cutoff date for the import of e-truck components such as heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems, electric compressors for brakes, charging inlets and battery management systems was September 1, 2025, with imports of some parts allowed till March 1, 2026....