Vehicle scrappage policy to reduce cost of electric vehicles: Nitin Gadkari
The road minister said that battery recycling, which will be done through the new scrappage policy, will help bring down the cost of electric vehicles and will also help India develop Lithium-ion batteries locally.
The Minister of Road Transport & Highways on August 17 said the newly launched Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernisation Programme or the vehicle scrappage policy will help reduce the cost of manufacturing electric vehicles in India.
The minister said that battery recycling, which will be done through the new scrappage policy, will help bring down the cost of electric vehicles and will also help India develop Lithium-ion batteries locally.
He added that competition in the electric vehicle segment in India is growing, and going forward the cost and quality of a vehicle will decide the brand value of cars.
Talking about the scrappage policy, Gadkari said that the policy will increase sales of new vehicles, adding that the government has requested automobile manufacturers to give five percent discount on new vehicles bought against scrapping old vehicles.
Gadkari also said that under the vehicle scrappage policy, testing and scrappage centres will be setup in all districts across the country using the public private partnership (PPP) model.
He further said that according to an estimate, with increased sale of automobiles due to the launch of the vehicle scrappage policy, the government will get a profit of Rs 30,000- Rs 40,000 crore in GST.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 13 launched the Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernisation Programme, or the automobile scrappage policy.
The Prime Minister had said the vehicle scrappage policy will bring in investments of around Rs 10,000 crore. He also said that Alang in Gujarat can become hub for vehicle scrapping.
The policy, which had been in the works since 2015, is aimed at providing incentives to owners of old and polluting vehicles to take them off the road and scrap them. Commercial vehicles that are over 15 years old and personal vehicles that are over 20 years old will become eligible for scrapping.
Under the policy, the centre had made it mandatory for heavy commercial vehicles to be scrapped if they do not conform to the fitness level prescribed under the rules from 2023 onwards, Giridhar Aramane, secretary in the road transport and highways ministry had last week said.
Similarly, the centre plans to make vehicle scrapping mandatory for personal vehicles from June 2024 onwards.
Source : moneycontrol
