In a move that is expected to provide a major thrust to the Indian auto industry, the Ministry of Heavy Industries is setting up 7 auto testing centres in the country. These will be operational by September 2011. The auto testing centres will be used for testing new cars before their introduction into the market. Car manufacturers from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia too will be allowed to use these centres for testing purposes.

Currently, car manufacturers in India have to go to either Europe or the US to test cars. The government is investing a whopping Rs 1,800 crore to set up the testing centres, which will come up in places like Manesar, Rae Bareilly, Ahmednagar and Pune. The Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Mr. Ambuj Sharma, said that in addition to setting up the testing facilities, the Ministry is also trying to convince the Finance Ministry to waive the Special Excise Duty (SED) on big car manufacturing.

Last year, the government had introduced a Special Excise Duty ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 on cars with capacities of 1500-2000 cc. This was done in order to limit carbon emissions from big cars.

Courtesy: www.driveinside.com