ThiruvananthapuramKerala, counting on debt funding by Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to feed 80% of its proposed R1.18-lakh-crore high-speed rail corridor project, is likely to corner some Japanese industrial investment too, as if in bonus.

A business team, led by Japanese diplomatic officials, has been in talks with state industry officials on a project for manufacturing advanced technology components for high-speed trains.

MumbaiItalian scooter and three-wheeler maker Piaggio has reintroduced the iconic scooter brand Vespa in India. In its new avatar, Vespa will be placed in the premium segment, a first in India, claims Piaggio. The scooter will be priced at R66,661, ex-showroom Maharashtra.

“Right now, there is no premium segment in the Indian scooter market, but we believe ther is a significant number of brand conscious young people who would like to make a statement,” said Ravi Chopra, chairman and managing director, Piaggio Vehicles. “Vespa is creating a premium segment by targetting those customers.”

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has planned to add 700 Tata BS4 buses by March 31, but so far managed only 263.

According to BMTC managing director K R Sreenivas, there has been a delay in supply of the buses from Tata. “Since BS4 uses a new technology, the suppliers have not been able to manufacture in the numbers we require,” he said.

AHMEDABAD: The city has over 30 lakh vehicles, which include 20 lakh two-wheelers. This is 22 per cent of the total vehicles registered in Gujarat, the state assembly on Thursday was informed by urban development minister Nitin Patel in his reply to Naroda MLA Mayaben Kodnani's question.

The minister said that to ease off congestion on the city roads, the government has taken measures like Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) and Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Metro project.

Three more cities are switching over to Bharat Stage (BS)-4 emission norms from Thursday. These cities are Ankaleshwar in Gujarat, Hisar in Haryana and Bharatpur in Rajasthan.

Already 13 cities, including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat, Kanpur, Agra, Lucknow and Solapur are implementing the BS-4 emission norms from 2010 when the national auto fuel policy was announced.

Forty per cent of the cars sold in the country are now powered by diesel. The fact that it is 40 per cent cheaper than petrol is the obvious reason. But now diesel has a company — CNG or compressed natural gas which is also witnessing sizeable growth.

New Delhi A specialised body for promoting sustainable development of the Indian auto sector, dubbed the National Automotive Board, is likely to be set up by April.

"The proposed National Automotive Board (NAB), which is being finalised by the Department of Heavy Industry, is likely to be cleared by the Cabinet in a month," an official said.

Doing so has major implications for public health but moving to a market-linked fuel pricing policy makes more sense.

Anumita Roychowdhuryanumita Roychowdhury
Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Centre for Science and Environment*
“The additional taxes on diesel cars can generate resources to produce clean diesel for all segments to meet public health objectives”

Dhaka: The government will formulate an automobile policy by July next to help ensure a strong and sustainable automobile sector in the country, said Industries Minister Dilip Barua. He said the government would provide required policy support to local entrepreneurs to manufacture vehicles of international standard.
The Industries Minister came up with the disclosure while inaugurating a motorbike manufacturing plant of Runner Automobiles Limited, a local automobile company, at Bhaluka upazila in Mymensingh on Saturday, said a press release on Sunday.