SIAM’s 55th Annual Convention Brings Industry Leaders & Policy Makers Together

By 121 News

Chandigarh 02^nd September:- Addressing the 55^th SIAM Annual Convention in the capital today, Hon'ble Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, said that the Government has been mulling the option of creating a new department of transport which will be headed by a new Secretary.  The new department will have experts which will be abreast with the technical knowledge so that technical regulations can be designed better. This body will come into existence once the PMO approves. The minister also stressed on the importance of infrastructure and road safety. He stated that the government has already ordered fornine PPP projects, which highlights the steady flow of investments in road infrastructure. Infrastructure was the first step to improve and increase road network. However he said we would also be promoting the water ways and the railway network as the primary mode of transport within the country.

Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India said that if India has to grow at the rate of 7 - 8%, then the automotive and auto component industry have to be the key driver of this growth, not only in case of manufacturing but also innovation and frugal engineering. He also stressed upon the importanceof connected cars and shared mobility, like services of Ola, Uber which are driven by technology.

Themed "Automotive Mission Plan: Make in India", the 55^th SIAM Annual Convention has witnessed attendance by several senior bureaucrats, auto industry stalwarts, including CEOs and senior representatives from the Indian and global manufacturers, who presented their perspectives about the auto industry's role in emerging India and future of mobility in the country.

Vikram Kirloskar, President, SIAM and Vice Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt Ltd, said that the last three years have been challenging for Indian automotive industry. However the conditions have improved significantly over the past fiscal." He also added that the auto industry is a highly taxed sector and is unfairly targeted for being the primary cause of pollution, which the government needs to look into. The industry is also hopeful that GST will soon be implemented.

Ramesh Suri, President, ACMA and Chairman, Subros Ltd and Sumit Mazumder, President, CII and Chairman & MD, TIL Ltd also addressed the audience. Takeshi Uchiyamada, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Toyota Motor Corporation, talked about hybrid technology and how Toyota Prius was driving the category.

R.S Katoch, Secretary, Ministry of Heavy industries and Public Enterprises, Government of India said that we have been trying to support the industry and trying to devise policies which would help the industry. While there have been high level concerns on emission norms of late, we have tried to put forth the case of the industry in the best possible way with the Ministry. There are a lot of misconceptions which we believe can be addressed with proper studies on the subject matter.

The special plenary session was opened by Pawan Munjal, Chairman, CEO and MD, Hero MotoCorp Ltd.