Government plans to introduce vehicle scrappage policy soon

- Recycling clusters may be established near ports

- India likely to emerge as world’s leading automobile manufacturing hub in five years 

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari stated that the government is planning on introducing the vehicle scrappage policy, under which recycling clusters may be established near ports. Additionally, the minister expressed confidence that India will emerge as the world's leading automobile manufacturing hub in five years. The new scrapping policy will be applicable for old cars, buses and trucks. 

The government is reportedly considering increasing the depth of the country’s ports by 18 metres to enable set-up of automobile clusters comprising of recycling plants near the ports. It is believed that the recycled material will be useful for the automobile industry as it will reduce cost of manufacturing cars, buses, and trucks, thereby increasing India's competitiveness in international markets.Nitin Gadkari further added, “Within five years, India will be the number one manufacturing hub of all cars, buses and trucks, with all fuel, ethanol, methanol, bio-CNG, LNG, electric as well as hydrogen fuel cells.”

Experts have stated that the draft guidelines for setting up authorised vehicle scrappage facilities that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) released in October 2019 was seen as a step in the right direction but a lot of work was yet to be done. The media reports claim that the guidelines detailed the infrastructure requirement and the procedure for setting up vehicle scrappage facilities in the country and streamlining the process for entities interested in entering this business.