The launch of India’s vehicle scrapping policy, or the “ Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernization Programme ”, aims to create a new era of what it means to own and use a car in India. It was submitted to Parliament in March by the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari.
According to the directive, all vehicles of a certain age must be separated from road traffic to improve the emission control and safety required for new vehicles. Commercial vehicles older than 15 years and private cars older than 20 years are marked as scrapped. Unless they pass the automatic fitness test, it doesn’t matter whether they use diesel or gasoline. You will be deleted from the registration form; the owner can scrap them, but they cannot be used on the road.
How many cars will enter the field initially?
In India, there are 5.1 million cars over 20 years old and 3.4 million cars over 15 years old. According to the Ministry of Roads and Motor Transport, there are about 17,000 medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles with no validity period for more than 15 years. This does not mean that car owners should rush to dispose of end-of-life vehicles. India does not yet have the infrastructure to test or scrap such a large number of cars.
The purpose of the investor summit is to draw the Indian industry’s attention to the scale and profitability of scrap steel. In March, Gadkari told the parliament that the ecosystem created could attract 10 billion rupees in investment and create 35,000 new jobs.
When will it be implemented?
The government has established rules and regulations for what types of Automated Fitness Centres should be created and who can create them. It also came up with how the scrapping yard should be. This will give Indian companies time to build an ecosystem in which testing and subsequent processing can be carried out organically without consumer coercion.
To this end, mandatory testing of heavy commercial vehicles will begin in April 2023, while other vehicle categories, such as passenger cars, will gradually begin in June 2024. The government is negotiating to change the implementation plan within a few months.