Addressing virtually the annual technology summit of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), the minister highlighted the need to reduce imports and increase exports. The Union Budget for 2021-22 has proposed a 15% increase in import duty on automotive components such as drive transmissions, chassis, brakes, and steering to curb imports from China and boost local manufacturing.
Asserting the need to reduce imports and increase localisation levels to achieve the mission of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat,’ Union Minister for Road Transport and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said that the government may further hike custom duty on auto parts to boost local manufacturing.
Addressing virtually the annual technology summit of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), the minister highlighted the need to reduce imports and increase exports. He emphasised that the auto industry has the capabilities to come up with goods without compromising on their quality and cost.
The Union Budget for 2021-22 has proposed 15% increase in import duty on automotive components such as drive transmissions, chassis, brakes and steering to curb imports from China and boost local manufacturing. The Finance Minister explained that these parts are not critical for an automobile and are also available locally. This move is to boost local manufacturing.
“Auto component industry is considered as one of the shining sectors to achieve the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India. It is because of the strong capabilities of the auto sector that the vehicle industry in India has been able to achieve a localisation level of around 70%. I urge both the auto component makers and the OEMs to increase localisation to 100%,” Gadkari added.
Highlighting the capability of the industry, he said the domestic auto sector has created employment for over 5 million people and has the potential to employ over 25 million skilled manpower in the near future.
On the scrappage policy, which is intended to replace 10 million old and unfit vehicles, Gadkari said the government is also working actively on framing the final vehicle scrappage policy.
“The government is also looking at resolving issues related to the shortage of raw materials such as steel to encourage replacement demand and ease production challenges to support the automobile industry,” the Minister added.
Source: Economic Times
