Publishers Note

AS WE ENTER OUR 17TH YEAR OF PUBLICATION, THE INDIAN ECONOMY IS STILL RECOVERING FROM the second wave of the pandemic. With the threat of a third wave on the horizon, the outlook for the next six months is still cloudy. The automobile industry, often considered to be the barometer of the health of the economy is also in a challenging situation. High fuel prices have made owning any automobile an expensive affair. More than 60 per cent of the price of fuel is in the form of taxes and blaming the oil producing countries is a deliberate distraction. Over the last two years, the government has raked in over Rs 2 lakh crores as fuel taxes and risks killing the goose that lays the golden egg. Rising fuel prices will inevitably have an impact on inflation and therefore on the economy. A reduction in taxes is imperative.

The fuel policy of the government is also a confused work in progress. Ethanol is not the solution for two-wheelers and most of the bikes on the road will not accept fuel with high levels of ethanol. Also, ethanol will encourage sugarcane cultivation ( a lot of our politicians will benefit from this) and sugarcane depletes groundwater levels severely. Concessions announced by a few state governments may help public transport vehicles and two-wheelers but the setting up of infrastructure for pure electric vehicles is still in its infancy. Immediately, we see some scope for electric twowheelers, especially scooters, but this sector is seeing a lot of new untried players who will have to prove themselves to survive in the long run. Merely importing kits from China and assembling them is not going to work. The media industry has also had an extremely challenging eighteen months. We are deeply grateful to our advertisers, readers and staff who stood by us during these difficult times. Hopefully, better times are round the corner.