New Delhi: In a major move aimed at reducing the cost of electric vehicles, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that India is all set to fully develop Lithium-ion vehicles that would help in bringing down the price of emission-free electric vehicles.
Talking about the scrappage policy, Gadkari said, "Scrappage policy will increase sales of new vehicles. The ministry has requested vehicle manufacturers to give 5 per cent discount on new vehicle bought against scrapping of the
old vehicle."
"Vehicles in Delhi/NCR will be scrapped after 10 and 15 years as per judgement of the NGT," said Gadkari at a Press conference to share details of the new Vehicle Scrappage Policy which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week.
The Union Minister further confirmed that he will be launching India's first electric tractor next month. He also said that India now manufacture almost 90 per cent of world-leading car brands and very soon the nation will become a major transport manufacturing hub of the world. Most of the vehicles manufactured in India is exported to the African countries, he said.
Gadkari further said that as conveyed by PM the initiative will promote a circular economy and make the process of economic development more sustainable and environment-friendly.
Highlighting a key feature of the policy, Gadkari said, "Instead of the age of the vehicle, a fitness test will determine if the vehicle will be sent for scrapping. All the government vehicles of 15 years would be scrapped from April 2022. The policy would attract an investment of Rs 10,000 crore and create thousands of employment opportunities."
"The scrapping policy is beneficial for all the stakeholders as it will boost manufacturing, generate employment and increase our savings. The cost of new vehicles would also come down as the scrap would provide copper, aluminum, steel, plastic and rubber to the industry," Gadkari said.