The last decade was the decade of IT, this would be the decade of Infrastructure said Mr Kamal Nath, Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India at the Inaugural Ceremony of 10th Auto Expo jointly organized by Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) here today. While complimenting India’s automotive industry for its entrepreneurial and leadership spirit, the Minister added that an 8% GDP growth meant stress on infrastructure; the biggest deficit in the country today is in the infrastructure sector and Roads are at the heart of it.
“For building 20 km of roads a day, a work in progress of 20,000 km of roads is required which poses the challenge of building capacity in NHAI, for workers, contractors and consultants” emphasized the Minister.
Accentuating the need for governance & reforms in the automotive sector, Mr Nath said that his ministry was carrying out a comprehensive review of Motor Vehicles Act keeping in view the requirements of today and future. He also highlighted the Government’s commitment to meeting international standards in roads and making travel seamless throughout the country using technology and regulatory framework.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh, Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Government of India said that the Auto Industry has come a long way since Auto Expo’s first edition. Auto Expo is a great opportunity for Indian auto industry to showcase its capabilities and enhance its global reach, he added.
Emphasising the Government’s commitment to create a world class auto industry, he further added that his ministry had taken measures to bridge the skill gap, set up a Technology Development Fund for the auto sector, facilitate adoption of cleaner technologies and promote linkages between global and Indian industry.
Elaborating on the tremendous progress made by India’s auto industry, Mr Venu Srinivasan, President, CII said “In 2008-09, 1.82 million cars and 8.4 million two-wheelers were sold with an aggregate vehicle sale of over 11 million.”
Highlighting that the Indian industry had fared better than the global automotive majors despite the downturn, Mr Srinivasan added “Driven by our own robust internal demand conditions, and a proactive and effective government stimulus package, the automotive industry could even manage to grow during 2008-09”.
Acknowledging the Government’s support to the industry, CII President said “India can emerge as a hub for the international automobile industry, especially in the Asian region. New product development is fast, appropriate, and accurate. India is rapidly progressing as a center for clean auto technologies as well, developing hybrid and fuel efficient vehicles and exploring new sources of fuel”
ACMA’s President, Mr Jayant Davar, mentioned that its focus would be to showcase greater capacity in creating intellectual property in collaboration with vehicle manufacturers, highlighting global outsourcing of auto components and new wave of building and enduring global partnerships.
Dr Pawan Goenka, President, SIAM said that Indian auto industry has been the showcase of resurgence of Indian economy. Regulation, road safety and international harmonization are the key for the sustainable growth of the Auto industry.
SIAM members have already committed an investment of Rs. 40,000 crore and are targeting an investment of Rs. 145 Billion crores despite the global slowdown, he added. Highlighting SIAM’s theme, Dr Goenka mentioned that growth with greater responsibility towards reducing emissions and road safety would be the essentials in reaching the further growth trajectories.
The 10th Auto Expo was inaugurated by Mr Kamal Nath and Vilasrao Deshmukh, Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises. Also present on the occasion were Mr Gurudas Kamat, Minister of State for Communications & Information Technology and diplomats representing various countries, senior representative from the automotive sector, international and domestic exhibitors.
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