Govt to approve vehicle scrapping policy soon: Gadkari

Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that the Union Cabinet will soon decide on the proposed vehicle scrapping the policy, which proposes discarding vehicles older than 15 years.

"I have signed the file for the cabinet note on the policy for the scrapping of old vehicles including old cars, buses, three and two-wheelers. Finance Ministry has approved the note on it and the government will very soon clear it," he said while speaking at the curtain raiser event of the India Manufacturing Show (IMS) 2020 here on Thursday.

The minister had earlier said that once the policy is approved India could emerge as a hub for automobile manufacturing as key raw material available from scrapping like steel, aluminium and plastic are bound to be recycled, bringing down automobile prices by "20-30 %."

In May 2016, the government had floated a draft Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernisation Programme (V-VMP) that proposed to take 28 million decade-old vehicles off the road.

The government could offer tax incentives for discarding vehicles older than 15 years under the proposed scrappage policy, apart from other measures to disincentivise plying of vehicles older than 15 years.

While the automobile industry has suggested to the government that financial incentives should be given to it to accelerate the plan to phase out polluting commercial vehicles that are more than 15 years, the government wants the industry to offer some discount to new buyers as it would boost their sales.

Gadkari also advocated the deployment of board gauge metro as an affordable, efficient and time-saving option for inter-city travel which will reduce stress on large cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

IMS 2020 at Bengaluru

Talking about the IMS 2020 which will be held in Bangalore in October next year, Gadkari said the mega trade and industry show is a very good opportunity for showcasing the services.

The Fifth edition of India Manufacturing Show – IMS 2020 – is scheduled to be held from October 12 to 14, 2020 in Bangalore. The show will comprise various development programs, buyer-seller meet, CEO Leadership Conclave, business collaborations, a roundtable discussion with CEOs and many more. IMS 2020 is being organized by Laghu Udyog Bharati and IMS Foundation.