New Delhi: Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said that the government has no intention to ban petrol and diesel vehicles.
"There were discussions and the ministry had received suggestions that petrol-diesel vehicles should be banned. I would like to clarify that the government does not intend to ban petrol and diesel vehicles. We are not going to do anything like that," Gadkari said addressing a gathering at the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) annual convention, 2019.
Live from 59th SIAM Annual Convention – “Moving into a New Era of Auto Industry” https://t.co/0Oex0UMPuN
— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) September 5, 2019
The Union Minister also outlined that India's automobile industry had witnessed high volumes in terms of exports and the industry is providing tremendous employment opportunities.
Mentioning that reducing pollution is in the national interest, he said that it was not correct to blame only vehicles for the problem of pollution. "Yes, they share some of the onus", the minister added.
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"The pollution in Delhi affected the health of everyone and the world has also been critical about it. A Rs 50000 crore plan has been devised for Delhi to identify spots which cause pollution. Due to this, around 29 per cent pollution in Delhi has been controlled," the Union Minister said.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari: There is a fact that as far as the present economic data is concerned automobile sector is facing problem, because of global economy, demand & supply. Govt is already with the automobile industry & under the Finance Ministry we'll find out a solution pic.twitter.com/F24mvNFyJQ
— ANI (@ANI) September 5, 2019
The BJP leader said the government has reduced GST on electric vehicles. "I am trying to convince the Finance Ministry to think about hybrids too," he said. Stressing that the automobile sector needs to focus more on quality, he said: "India can become number one manufacturing hub. The automobile firms should be quality-centric not cost centric."
"The condition of the state transport corporation is not good. The government is putting all the efforts to bring the London transport model," the Union Minister added.
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Emphasising on public transports, Gadkari said: "Public transport has potential. If we implement the London transport model then 12-15 lakh new buses will become operational."
He added that new technologies are must to expand the business. (ANI)
