New Delhi: The government in September this year will announce details of the second Automotive Mission Plan (AMP) like investment and employment targets to be achieved by 2026, a senior official said today.
"The details of the second phase of AMP (2016-26) would be announced in September this year. Through this plan, we are aiming for the automotive sector to account for 10 per cent of the country's GDP by 2026," Ministry of Heavy Industries Additional Secretary Ambuj Sharma told reporters here.
The official also said that government expects to make operational nine centres of excellence, including crash test sites across the country, by the end of this year.
In the first AMP (2006-16), auto industry's contribution to the GDP was envisaged at 10 per cent but it currently accounts for just over 7 per cent, he said.
"We are yet to finalise other targets, including employment figures as well as investment for the next AMP," Sharma said.
Announced in 2006, the AMP had envisaged India to become an international hub for designing and manufacturing of automobiles and auto components with output reaching USD 145 billion and accounting for more than 10 per cent of the country' Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The plan also envisages the Indian automobile market to provide employment to 25 million people by 2016. The industry currently employs about 19 million people both directly and indirectly.
Commenting on the nine centres of excellence, including crash test centres coming under the aegis of National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project, Sharma said the government at the beginning had earmarked around Rs 2,288 crore, but now Rs 3,500 crore have been provided due to cost escalations.
"Out of the Rs 2,288 crore, we have already invested around Rs 1,800 crore. All the facilities will be operational by the year end," he added.
Only two high speed test tracks, one each at Indore and Pune would become operational later, Sharma said.
"These centres would enable the auto industry to comply with advanced testing and help them launch new vehicles in the country," he said.
Terming the auto industry as the sunrise sector, Sharma said the government is looking at continuity and stability as far as its policies are concerned.
The industry is looking at continuity in excise duty, import duty or FTAs, and that is what government is "looking at providing them", he said.
The Society of Indian Manufacturers (SIAM) Director General Vishnu Mathur said the auto industry is taxed heavily and asked the government to look at a moderate level of taxation for the sector.
