Duty, taxation structure for auto sector needs changes: Montek

The growth of the automotive industry is linked to several factors of the economy and in order to spur its growth, it is important to look at the economy as a whole. One of the major sectors that require attention is, of course, the road infrastructure in the country, he said.

Dr Ahluwalia added that the growth of the trucking business, which is important for the growth of the automotive industry as a whole, has been slower than the rest of the sectors in the industry. He called upon the captains of the automobile industry to address this issue.

Speaking on the occasion, Mukesh D Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd, said the automotive industry needed to play a major role in "growth with an equitable distribution of wealth." The potential of the Indian automotive industry was huge as one in 60 vehicles made in the world was manufactured in India. "This should go up to one in 10," he said.

"The future of the Indian automotive industry is entwined with that of the country," he said. With reforms and a shift to a market-driven economy, new opportunities had opened up for the industry and customer expectations had gone up. However, the market economy still had to address the issue of equitable distribution of wealth.

Ambani added that India had emerged as a global information technology (IT) superpower and the automotive industry needed to exploit this in terms of providing new services to its customers, vehicle-tracking and registration as well as vehicle design and manufacture. He also said that Reliance could partner with the government and the automotive industry to develop suitable solutions, particularly in the field of information technology and alternative fuels.

In his welcome address, Jagdish Khattar, president of SIAM and managing director of Maruti Udyog, pointed out several issues that hampered the growth of the automotive industry. Aspects such as issuing driving licences, measuring emissions, enforcing road rules and regional transport offices were under-regulated and road safety was poorly enforced.