‘Benefits on buying new vehicles on scrapping of old; taxes, other levies for polluting cars’

NEW DELHI: Buyers of new vehicles af ter opting for scrapping of their old and polluting vehicles will be offered benefits under the new policy to phase out old and polluting vehicles, Union minister Nitin Gadkari has said.

Terming the policy a boon, the road transport minister said it would lead to a 30 per cent boost to the Indian automobile industr y turnover to Rs 10 lakh crore in the years to come.

The voluntar y vehicle scrapping policy announced in the Union Budget for 2021-22 is touted as a major step to boost the Indian automobile sector, reeling under the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the voluntar y vehicle scrapping policy, personal vehicles would undergo fitness test af ter 20 years while commercial vehicles would require it af ter completion of 15 years.

"Those going for scrapping of their vehicles will get some benefits from the manufacturers. In fact, scrapping policy will prove to be a boon... not only it will boost economy, benefit automobile sector but also check vehicular pollution," Gadkari, who also holds MSME portfolio, said.

The minister said ver y soon the finer details of the policy will be unveiled by him and exuded confidence that the automobile industr y will turn into one such sector that will offer maximum number of employments in the days to come.