Vehicle scrappage policy launched by PM Modi

Aug 13: On Friday, Prime minister Narendra Modi launched the National Automobile Scrappage Policy at the Investor Summit in Gujarat via video conferencing and urged youths and startups to join the programme. Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari, who was also present at the event where Modi launched the new policy, said the move is likely to lead to a cut in raw material costs by around 40 percent.

The policy recommends “fitness tests” for private and commercial vehicles that are more than 20 and 15 years old respectively. In the absence of a “fitness certificate,” registration of such vehicles will be automatically cancelled. It further recommends mandatory scrapping of all government vehicles that are more than 15 years old but is applicable only on four-wheelers.

Vehicle scrapping will help phase out unfit & polluting vehicles in an environment friendly manner. Our aim is to create a viable #circulareconomy & bring value for all stakeholders while being environmentally responsible.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 13, 2021

The fitness tests will be done at government-certified fitness centres, appointments for which can be made online. Test reports will be generated in online mode. Also, scrappage can be done anywhere in the country, regardless of the place of vehicle registration. The scheme also proposes several incentives which the owners can avail after being given a scrapping certificate. This includes the scrap value for the old vehicle, which is expected to be around 5-6% of the price of a new vehicle.

Additionally, a road tax rebate of up to 25% for new personal vehicles, and 15% for new commercial vehicles, as well as a 5% discount against the scrapping certificate, have also been proposed under the policy. The registration fees for the purchase of a new vehicle may also be waived upon getting the old vehicle scrapped.