India, Dec. 3 -- Minister of State (MoS) for heavy industries Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma yesterday confirmed that the government failed to receive any applications under the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing Electric Passenger Cars in India (SPMEPCI).

In a written reply before the Lok Sabha, Varma said that automakers cited the curbs on rare earth magnets, ongoing India-European Union (EU) free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations and investment thresholds as reasons for not participating in the scheme.

The MoS added that global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) would participate in the initiative once the India-EU FTA is finalised. Additionally, they informed the ministry that the rare earth curbs as well as investment thresh...