New Delhi: The government has taken an encouraging step that may boost usage of alternative fuels with the Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday announced that all kind of commercial vehicles that are powered by alternative fuels like Ethanol, Methanol, Bio-diesel, and CNG will not require permit and it will get an exemption. He said this on the sidelines of the 58^th Annual Convention held by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). He hoped that this step may become a factor in the field of transportation.

“I am happy to announce that we have decided that electric vehicles and all vehicles which operate on Ethanol, Methanol, Bio-diesel, CNG will not require a permit,” Mr. Gadkari said.

On the other side, Mr. Gadkari said in his tweet after the Convention, that he has asked the automobile industry to focus on water transport. He further said that he had urged bio-fuel and electric powered vehicles producers to take steps in this regard.

Mr. Gadkari revealed the three most important focus areas of the government – reduce import, increase export and reduce pollution.

Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Babul Supriyo said in his speech that the government wants to facilitate electric mobility by providing incentives and the policies would support electric vehicles. He further said that ” an increased focus on safety is impacting the technological development in the auto industry.”

John Simlett, Global Leader future of mobility, E&Y said, “The future will be less about the advanced technology and more about the new ways of applying it.”

“When we talk about ‘Mobility Revolution’ it is more about new and easy ways of applying technology,” he said.

Guenter Butschek, CEO and Managing Director, Tata Motors said, “There must be diffusion across industries, a connected vehicle platform, and inclusiveness in order to revolutionize mobility. We envision e-mobility as the future with better support through incentives.”

Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister Swatantra Dev Singh said: “my state is an important market for the auto industry as is changing considerably.”

“Road safety has been a key concern for us We have established driver training schools across the state with prime focus in rural areas. We have also started online tax payment services and are the first ones to do so.” Mr. Singh said.

According to Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, Delhi has one of the “most progressive road safety policies” and his “government has an ambitious target to bring down the accident rate by 80 percent.”

“There is a need for constructive collaboration between the state government and the auto industry to tackle challenges like charging infrastructure and using the bus depot spaces for electrification of public transport. We are currently working on an electric vehicle policy and should soon come up with one,” said Mr. Gahlot.

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