It is already well established that the Government of India is aiming to reduce its crude oil imports by phasing out vehicles running purely on internal combustion engines (ICE) and Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, is the torch bearer of this ambitious campaign.
In his latest interaction with PTI, Gadkari has vowed to eliminate all petrol and diesel cars from India. However, this is just one part of an elaborate conversation with the news agency. As part of his mission to make India a green economy, Union minister Nitin Gadkari wants to slash GST on hybrid vehicles.
End of IC engines?
“One hundred per cent,” Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, said when asked whether it is possible for India to get rid of petrol and diesel cars altogether. However, Gadkari didn’t elicit a timeline for this grand transition to complete. He admitted that it is difficult but not impossible.
India spends Rs 16 lakh crore on fuel imports. This money could be used for improving the life of farmers, villages will be prosperous and the youth will get employment, the minister said. A transition of such a humongous scale will require a lot of time and even proponents of green energy believe that this ambitious target is mind bogglingly difficult.
While Environmental activists welcomed Gadkari’s vision for increasing green mobility, they also struck a word of caution by flagging the use of fossil fuels in the production of electricity. “In India, we are still heavily dependent on a fossil fuel-based energy system to power electric cars, and this needs to be changed. There is urgent need to ensure 100% renewable energy alongside electric vehicles to tackle the climate crisis,” Avinash Chanchal, a campaigner for Greenpeace India, told PTI
Reduction of taxes on hybrids, flex-fuel vehicles
However, this shouldn’t mean the death knell for IC engines. Gadkari said that the proposal to reduce GST on hybrid vehicles to 5% and to 12% for flex engines has been sent to the Finance ministry which is considering the requisition. The Union Minister firmly believes the country can end fuel import by promoting the use of biofuels.
He also believes that given the speed with which electric vehicles are being introduced, the coming era will be of alternative and biofuels. Gadkari said auto companies such as Bajaj, TVS and Hero are also planning to manufacture motorcycles using flex engines. In fact, Bajaj will launch its first CNG bike in the next couple of months. Test mules of this motorcycle have already been spied on multiple occasions.
Not just ethanol or CNG, Gadkari has also voiced his opinion in favour of hydrogen as a fuel source for the long term. He himself roams around in a hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai. Hydrogen is a strong proposition especially in the commercial vehicle segment. CV OEMs like Tata and Ashok Leyland have already introduced trucks that run on hydrogen.
(With inputs from PTI)
