Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the apex automobile industry body, organized its 62nd Annual Convention at New Delhi on September 15, during which several senior leaders from the Government, policymakers, and industry experts deliberated on and brainstormed strategies for the future of sustainable Mobility.
On the occasion, PM Narendra Modi in his message highlighted the significance of the mobility sector and its role in the progress of humanity. He emphasized accomplishing self-sufficiency in the automobile sector during ‘Amrit Kaal’ by availing the benefits of his government’s initiatives like the PLI scheme to boost manufacturing.
In line with ‘Amrit Kaal’ vision
In the first plenary session, themed ‘Indian Auto Sector’s Journey in the “Amrit Kaal”: Vision @ 2047’, Guest of Honour, Anurag Jain, Secretary, and Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade, Government of India (DPIIT) mentioned that India is expected to grow from 3 to 32 trillion-dollar economy by 2047. The auto industry is extremely crucial for India’s economy and manufacturing sector. The vision is to create a strong ecosystem where the industry can thrive, which necessitates adequate investment in R&D, skilled manpower, technological advancements, and focus on knowledge and emphasis on sustainability.
Kenichi Ayukawa, SIAM President, and Executive Vice Chairman, Maruti Suzuki said that the automotive industry is facing deep structural slowdown even before COVID and now in the aftermath of the pandemic and conflict in Ukraine, industry has been facing severe strain on supply chain. He also mentioned that auto industry will align with Government of India’s vision in ‘Amrit Kaal.’
Gunning for 15 L Cr market size
The second special plenary session on ‘Indian Auto Industry for India’s Economic Growth’, Guest of Honour, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways, said, “For making India a 5 trillion dollar economy and to achieve the Government’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the automobile industry will play a critical role. Within the next 5 years, we are looking at making the auto industry touch a market size of 15 lakh crore. We strongly urge the industry to be quality, innovation and safety centric. With a thrust on innovation in renewable sources of fuel like ethanol based Flex Engine and green hydrogen, vehicular pollution can be reduced substantially.”
Vinod Aggarwal, SIAM Vice President, and MD & CEO, VE Commercial Vehicles, Sunjay Kapur, ACMA President, and Chairman, Sona Comstar, Dr. Bornali Bhandari, Senior Fellow, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and Girish Wagh, Chairman, SIAM Commercial Vehicle CEOs Council and Executive Director (CVBU), Tata Motors also shared their views during the session.
Focus on Decarbonization
The third plenary session titled ‘Decarbonizing Indian Auto Sector’ witnessed the participation of Dr. J. R. Bhatt, Advisor/Scientist, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Andre Aranha Correa Do Lago, Brazilian Ambassador to India, Sharad Verma, Managing Director and Senior Partner, Boston Consulting Group, K. N. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, SIAM Two Wheeler CEOs Council and Director & CEO, TVS Motor Company, Diego Graffi, Chairman, SIAM Three-Wheeler CEOs Council and Managing Director & CEO, Piaggio Vehicle Pvt. Ltd, major auto makers and other dignitaries.
In his address, Dr. J. R. Bhatt said, “Climate change is one of the most important environmental challenges today. India’s vision for transport must be based on low carbon emissions and affordability.”
Andre Aranha Correa Do Lago said, “Brazil and India are the two largest sugarcane producers and have the potential to produce enormous amounts of ethanol. Brazil will work with India on Flex-fuel technology, sustainable aviation fuels, 2nd generation ethanol, hybrid flex fuel vehicles, fuel cells, etc.”
Talking about climate change and the need for sustainable mobility, Sharad Verma, said, “India needs to solve 3 key considerations, which are carbon footprint reduction, economic affordability of vehicles, and self-sufficiency of the industry while ensuring continued competitive advantage.”
Sustainable Nation Building
In the special plenary session 4 titled ‘Building the Nation, Responsibly’, Guest of Honour, Arun Goel, Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries, commented, “We need to encash the disruption of modern technologies and innovative approaches such as EVs, biofuels, and others. The FAME-II scheme of the government helped in catapulting EV adoption. The Government and the industry need to make dedicated efforts to help India achieve the target of net-zero by 2070, while making the country auto manufacturing hub for the world.”
Sumita Dawra, Additional Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said, “Our country is making great strides in every segment including automobile sector. As manufacturing is the backbone of the economy, we are constantly working to improve our ease of doing business by removing or integrating the approval and compliance requirements. PLI scheme by the government is providing the necessary support to the automobile sectors to grow swiftly.”
SIAM President Kenichi Ayukawa made the concluding remarks, thanking all the stakeholders for their participation.