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Will new auto policy be just a paint job
The Centre has ambitious plans for India’s robust automobile sector, with emphasis on green tech and low emissions taking centre-stage. But, ground realities such as infrastructural bottlenecks and unfocussed development are turning out to be pain points.
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migrator
migrator
Chennai
A new National Auto Policy is currently being readied which will lay emphasis on reducing vehicular emissions and on green mobility, Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete said on Wednesday.
Also, in the offing is the second edition of the Centre’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles (Fame) programme which expires in December, Geete said in his inaugural address at the annual session of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), in New Delhi. “We will come out with a new auto policy which will accommodate the wishes of the entire industry and take their suggestions into account,” Geete said.
As per ministry officials in the Capital, discussions with stakeholders have been on for the past six months to frame the new policy, which envisages having a nodal regulatory body for the auto industry. The Centre and the automotive industry articulated their objectives for the future of the industry through the Automotive Mission Plan 2016-26 (AMP 2026).
The draft policy released earlier had recommended rationalising the GST for automobiles by replacing the current classification criteria with a composite criterion based on vehicle length and CO2 emissions.
“Government is also going to come out with a Fame 2 scheme in the future as Fame 1 is coming to an end on December 31,” Geete said. Earlier, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said the country’s economy needs to be strengthened by reducing crude oil imports through use of bio-fuels and increasing exports by the automobile industry. “We are thinking seriously on how we can reduce the ‘permit raj’ in the field of alternate fuels and electric mobility,” he said.
However, a few veterans in the manufacturing space in Chennai believe the draft policy suffers from tunnel vision. VG Ramakrishnan, Founding Partner and MD, Avanteum Advisors LLP, shares a few insights, saying, the draft auto policy must focus on masses as the end-goal, leaving the technology direction to be decided by the industry.
“Is it not the time to put up stricter penalties for pollution instead of harping on cleaner fuel? Upgrades to control emission levels such as the BS-VI norms have not translated into real world benefits. Lack of proper road infrastructure viz a viz the absence of dedicated bus lanes, substandard quality engineering, traffic management shortcomings have added to the issues,” he said.
Advocating the hybrid model in the intermediate phase of transition to EVs, Ramakrishnan said he did not anticipate any major disruption in near future. The industry aspiration must be aligned with customer in terms of support infrastructure.
“Infra is the biggest impediment to auto growth. We need to offer end-goal incentivisation to car makers with emphasis on decongestion efforts, improving public transportation and having feasible designs.”
Ramakrishnan also lamented how despite having attracted marquee investors in the auto sphere and Fortune companies, the auto hub of TN failed to draw the attention of domestic powerhouse Maruti, which is considering Haryana as a potential location for its third manufacturing unit.
Meanwhile, a veteran auto technologist, and ACMA member who submitted a proposal a few months ago, tells us, there’s so much more room for improvement, policy wise. “The Centre should chart out a roadmap based on which industry experts can work and provide relevant solutions. Banning a certain type of diesel engine won’t work wonders. If a company manufactures 1,000 EV units and an equal number of diesel vehicles and as a batch adheres to the emission norms, why should the Centre be concerned?” the senior professional asked.
Amp vision 2026
- Indian auto industry will be among top three globally in engineering, manufacture and export of vehicles and auto components, and will encompass safe, efficient and environment friendly conditions for affordable mobility of people and transportation of goods comparable with global standards, growing in value to over 12% of india’s GDP and create 65 mn more jobs
- It envisages the Industry will grow 3.5 to 4 times in value from its current output of around Rs 4,64,000 cr (circa 2015, a year before the end of the mission plan period) to about Rs 16,16,000 to Rs 18,88,500 cr by 2026, based on a base case with average GDP growth of 5.8% and an optimistic case with an average GDP growth of 7.5%)
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