PM Modi to address Investor Summit in Gujarat today

According to a press release issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually address the Investor Summit in Gujarat at 11 a.m. on Friday, August 13.

The summit is being jointly organised by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the state government in order to promote investment in vehicle scrapping infrastructure in the state under the Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernisation Program or the Vehicle Scrapping Policy.

The Gujarat Investor Summit in Gandhinagar will also highlight the investment potential offered by the ship-breaking sector in Alang, which is planning to build an integrated scrapping hub.

The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, and the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani, will also be present on the occasion.

What is the Vehicle Scrapping Policy?

The Vehicle Scrapping Policy is aimed at creating an eco-system for phasing out unfit and polluting vehicles in an environment friendly and safe manner.

The policy intends to create scrapping infrastructure in the form of Automated Testing Stations and Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities across the country.

In March this year, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced the Vehicle Scrapping Policy in Lok Sabha. Making a Suo Motu statement in the Lok Sabha, the Minister said that older vehicles pollute the environment 10 to 12 times more than fit vehicles and pose a risk to road safety.

“In the interest of a clean environment and rider and pedestrian safety, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is introducing the Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernization Program (VVMP) or “Vehicle Scrapping Policy" which is aimed at creating an Eco-System for phasing out of Unfit and Polluting Vehicles," he added.

The objectives of the policy are to reduce population of old and defective vehicles, achieve reduction in vehicular air pollutants to fulfil India’s climate commitments, improve road and vehicular safety, achieve better fuel efficiency, formalize the currently informal vehicle scrapping industry and boost availability of low-cost raw materials for automotive, steel and electronics industry.

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(With PTI Inputs)