The Indian government’s gesture to promote the auto industry has begun with sanctioning 7 testing centres by which India will become the global hub. The testing will be done prior to the launch and the centres will facilitate cars coming from the markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, which will make the foreign direct investment feasible.
Currently, such tests are done in Europe and the US, and the Indian government is magnanimous by allocating some Rs1800 crore for these centres located in Manesar, Pune, Ahmed Nagar, Rai Barelli and three more centres. The proposal will come into effect from September 2011. In another gesture, the Indian government has made proposal to waive off Special Excise Dury of Rs15000 and Rs20,000 for the capacity range of 1500cc and 2000 cc respectively. The relaxation is already in effect for cars with fuel guzzler for the purpose of resisting carbon emission. The Ministry of heavy industries is making repeated pleas to the Finance Ministry in this regard, so that it might materialize at least in the next fiscal budget.