New Delhi, Apr 13 (PTI) Auto component manufacturers have not reported any serious LPG supply shortage, a senior official said on Monday, adding that the government is in touch with industry body ACMA to ensure an adequate gas supply and prevent any supply chain disruptions.
Addressing an inter-ministerial briefing here on the recent developments in West Asia, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Hanif Qureshi, said that regarding supply chain issues, the ministry is in constant touch with the automobile industry and is making appropriate efforts to address them.
The government has also advised the industry to use cleaner fuels, such as electric furnaces and PNG, wherever available, he added.
Responding to media queries, Qureshi said, “LPG is used in the component manufacturing industry, and the government is in touch with ACMA (Auto Component Manufacturers Association) and the industry associations. We are taking all measures to ensure that adequate supply is there, along with the Ministry of Petroleum, and no serious shortages have been reported”.
“In fact, if we look at the production base of March, then about 15 to 16 per cent increase in the production of vehicles has taken place in the month of March”.
Regarding alternative fuels and the emphasis on electric vehicles, the official observed that apart from the Prime Minister’s E-DRIVE scheme — which provides incentives to consumers on the purchase of electric vehicles — the PLI auto scheme covers manufacturers.
“So both these schemes continue, and along with the Scheme to promote the Manufacturing of Rare Earth Magnets, that will also improve the supply chain, and it will be a push towards AatmaNirbhar Bharat,” he observed.
Regarding ethanol blending, Qureshi said the government is committed to using bio-fuels as far as possible, with 20 per cent ethanol blending already taking place.
“There is also a program of flex fuels, and the industry has already come up with models which are compliant with flex fuel. So the Flex Fuel means that from E-20 to E-85 the engines can take that blend without any degradation in performance. So we are seeing development of four-wheelers as well as two-wheelers, which are capable of using flex fuels. So we are confident that the use of flex fuels will also grow, which will also ease the pressure on the import of crude,” he added.
Qureshi also informed about the measures being taken by the Ministry of Heavy Industries to boost the adoption of electric vehicles in the country, encourage indigenous automobile production, address supply chain issues due to the West Asia crisis, and improve supply chain resilience.
Under the PM E-DRIVE scheme, the subsidy period for three-wheeler e-rickshaws was until March 2026, which has now been extended by two years to March 2028. Electric two-wheelers are used by many people. The terminal date for their subsidies has also been extended by another three months till 31 July 2026, the official said.
The government has revised the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme to set new deadlines and unit caps for e-scooters and e-rickshaws.
Besides, Qureshi said, the phased manufacturing programme (PMP) is used to determine subsidy levels for various categories of electric vehicles. It encourages indigenous automobile production.
“Considering the supply chain issues due to the West Asia crisis, the PMP guidelines for trucks and buses have been relaxed by six months now; the new date of September 1, 2026, has been given,” he added.
Qureshi said the Heavy Industries Ministry is also making efforts to improve the resilience of the supply chain.
“For this, the issue of rare earth magnets has been highlighted, as you would know, that with a total budgetary outlay of Rs 7,280 crore, the rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing scheme was notified by the ministry. This targets the establishment of 6,000 MTPA of domestic integrated manufacturing capacity.” “Recently, on 7 April, a pre-bid conference was held. The tenders have been floated. RFP (Request for Proposal) has been floated on the CPP portal, and more than 25 prospective bidders attended the meeting. For supply chain issues, the ministry is in constant touch with the automobile industry, and is making appropriate efforts to address the same,” he said. PTI RSN RSN MR
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