[sustran] Re: Indian official calls German cars 'criminal'

[Karthik Rao-Cavale]

I think it is really important that India do two things:

1) Cutback the fuel subsidy and concentrate on subsidizing food and other
essential commodities. Currently, India's National Advisory Council is
drafting a national food security bill in conjunction with the national
planning commission. What was originally a plan to provide universal
coverage, with all nutritional needs being taken care off, has now been
whittled down to a bare-bones scheme with only cereals (and maybe sugar and
kerosene), because the Planning Commission thinks that we cannot afford a
universal and comprehensive scheme. Now, the additional cost to make the
scheme universal (thereby ensuring that no one is left out) would be about
80,000 crore rupees (800 billion rupees). The cost of the vehicle fuel
subsidy itself is about 200 billion rupees - so cutting back on the fuel
subsidy can make a more comprehensive food security bill possible.

2) Create legislation that will ensure that in the next few decades,
personal and freight/public transport use different fuels. As long as the
current regime continues, any increase in diesel prices will be impossible
due to the trucking lobby, and the big-diesel-car-owners will reap the
benefits. These diesel cars need to be phased out if a differential policy
towards the two sectors is to succeed.

On Sat, Nov 13, 2010 at 1:42 PM, Todd Edelman <edelman at greenidea.eu> wrote:

> Indian official calls German cars 'criminal'
> http://www.thelocal.de/national/20101112-31139.html
>
> India’s Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh attacked German automakers on
> Friday, saying driving big-engined luxury models from BMW and
> Mercedes-Benz in his country was “criminal.”
>
> Expressing his wish for better fuel efficiency in India, Ramesh said
> people should not be encouraged to buy vehicles such as powerful German
> luxury cars and gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles.
>
> “The luxurious growth of large-size vehicles like SUVs is really a
> growth of concern, use of vehicles like SUVs and BMW in countries like
> India is criminal,” he said at a UN function in New Delhi, according to
> news agency IANS.
>
> "I think we seriously need to think about fuel policy regime," he added,
> suggesting that these luxury models were still made because they run on
> subsidised diesel fuel, making the real beneficiaries the owners of
> "BMWs, the Benzs and Hondas," IANS reported.
>
> The country should levy extra fees and mandatory fuel efficiency
> standards on these cars, the minister suggested.
>
> "We cannot ask people to buy or not to buy a particular car. But through
> an effective fiscal policy, we can certainly have an impact," he said.
>
> A new committee on national transport plans to give recommendations for
> such a program in just over a year, he added.
>
> India’s auto market is among the fastest growing in the world,
> particularly in the luxury sector, with German carmakers expanding their
> operations there significantly in recent years
>
> ***
>
> See also
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/edelman/2163265797/in/set-72157602171242536/
>
> --
>
> Todd Edelman
> Green Idea Factory,
> a member of the OPENbike team
>
> Mobile: ++49(0)162 814 4081
>
> edelman at greenidea.eu
> www.greenidea.eu
> todd at openbike.se
> www.openbike.se
>
> Skype: toddedelman
>
> Urbanstr. 45
> 10967 Berlin
> Germany
>
> ***
>
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karthik <http://vishwakarman.wordpress.com>