Nitin Gadkari Says Scrappage Policy will Make India Top Auto Hub

The minister will be announcing scrappage policy in a span of 8 to 10 days. He further added that it would create about 25 lakh new job opportunities. He also added further, “We would be taking scrap from all over the world and recycling it. It would help to reduce prices of automobile components by almost 40 per cent”.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari stated on Saturday, supporting the scrappage policy mentioned in the Budget it would carry India to lead automobile manufacturing hub worldwide within five years. In an interview with media at Wardha, MP from Nagpur stated that Sindi (Railway) nearby Wardha is likely to be transformed into a huge logistics park and he would plan on shifting the depot for Container Corporation of India (CCI) in Nagpur. The area is prepared as a dry spot with direct connectivity to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Mumbai. This raises a serious question if the proposed Mihan cargo hub will be dropped or will stay.

The minister will be announcing scrappage policy in a span of 8 to 10 days. He further added that it would create about 25 lakh new job opportunities. He also added further, “We would be taking scrap from all over the world and recycling it. It would help to reduce prices of automobile components by almost 40 per cent”. Vehicles aged more than 15 years require more maintenance and are less fuel-efficient, said the union minister adding further, “With the change in technology, new vehicles require less maintenance and are fuel-efficient. We would provide discounts, for example, 5 per cent on the price of new vehicles to those who offer their old ones for scrap”. Elaborating further, he signalled about domestic production of electric vehicles and lithium batteries. He further added that scrap from aluminium, plastic, iron and rubber will help getting started with the upcoming industry.

He further added, “We would levy a green tax on old vehicles. I am a big supporter of bio-fuel and have plans to make Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia and Gadchiroli diesel-free cities in five years. Even in Budget, the government has made provision for 25,000 electric buses for city transportation. A tractor powered by bio-CNG will also be launched in Delhi on February 12 by petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan”.

A provision of Rs50 crore to Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Rural Industrialization (MGIRI) in Wardha has been decided by the Ministry of Micro and Small Industries. Gadkari added, he is planning to transform it into a world-class institute for training purpose in tribal, forest and agriculture research and industrialization sector. Gadkari further added, “It would be developed on the lines of the proposed Terracotta centre in Ballarpur for promoting local handicraft products and would soon get a full-time director”.

Lauding the budget, Gadkari said it would strengthen Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of an independent make in India aka (Atmanirbhar Bharat). He further added, “The government is planning to come up with ethanol fuel and it would cost just Rs60. Many companies have already started manufacturing such vehicles.”