What happened: PM E-DRIVE grants for upgrading automotive testing agencies

The Ministry of Heavy Industries stated that the PM E-DRIVE Scheme includes a provision of ₹780 crore as grants for the creation of capital assets to upgrade automotive testing agencies. The Ministry also reported disbursement status for these testing agencies: as of 20.07.2026, ₹16.63 crore had been disbursed.

Background and earlier position: what “testing agency upgrade” means in industry support

In the automotive sector, testing agencies provide essential infrastructure for validating vehicle and component performance. Upgrading such agencies through capital assets typically supports better equipment, testing capability, and compliance capacity so that industry can conduct and validate tests more effectively.

What changed now: capital-asset grants and reported disbursement

The key new policy-financing information provided is numerical and time-linked: ₹780 crore provision under the PM E-DRIVE Scheme specifically targets creation of capital assets for upgrading automotive testing agencies.Reported disbursal progress as of 20.07.2026: ₹16.63 crore disbursed to these testing agencies.These figures indicate both the total grant envelope for the capital-asset purpose and the stage of fund release captured by the stated cut-off date.