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New Delhi: Several countries across the world have taxes based on the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by vehicles. “I will request our Finance Minister to think on similar lines to bring out a policy where alternative fuels and flex fuels are incentivised and high taxes are imposed on the fuel guzzlers,” says Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in an exclusive conversation with ETAuto.
“The government already has a lot of incentives for less pollution emitters. There is a 5% GST on electric cars, but for petrol cars, the GST is 48%. The Finance Minister will take further decisions on this,” he added.
In India, hybrid vehicles attract the same GST as their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts.
According to Gadkari, people prefer electric vehicles because they are cost-effective, pollution-free, and indigenous. But the problem is that one litre of petrol equals 10 rupees of electricity. The cost of electric vehicles compared with diesel and petrol is high.
In the power sector, 38% of generation is through solar power, and we will reach 60% soon. There is also a lot of research and development going on in hydropower, nuclear power, and geothermal power.
“Today we are energy importers; we are atma nirbhar, and I believe we will soon be energy exporters. We have started working on green hydrogen. We will soon be hydrogen and ammonia exporters,” he added.
The Minister further explained that India is offering a bouquet of technologies, and whichever works best should be preferred. “We are currently in the process of making CNG and LNG from the crop stubble. I believe that the issue of running buses and tractors in Punjab and Haryana can be solved, as there is a lot of stubble readily available there. In UP, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, an ethanol-based economy can be developed. So whatever is available in the region, it can be used. We are trying at all levels to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels, and we will move to carbon neutrality by 2070,” he said.
Presently, the size of the automobile industry is INR 7.5 lakh crore, out of which INR 3 lakh crore is exported. “This industry is giving maximum GST to the state and central governments. This industry has created over 4 crore jobs, and we intend to make this industry worth INR 15 lakh crore,” said the Minister.
Gadkari stated that we need to march towards BS-VII with the rest of the world, and we are in talks with the auto industry for its implementation. “We faced a lot of challenges to get to BS-VI, but we have done it successfully, and the auto industry also supported us.”
