Infra spending to increase to help auto industry: Gadkari

The Central government is expected to take some policy decisions and come up with some major road infrastructure projects to arrest the sales downturn being faced by the Indian automobile industry, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday.

The Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises spoke at the annual convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) here.

Gadkari acknowledged that the sector was presently facing a sales downturn due to several factors like high GST rates, farm distress, stagnant wages and liquidity constraints.

The minister said that in order to address the issues, the government is expected to award road projects worth Rs 5 lakh crore in the coming months. He said that these new construction projects would generate a demand for automobile construction equipment such as trucks.

The auto industry body has sought steps from the government, including a reduction in GST rates, to help them.

The industry has been reeling under stress for sometime in view of the declining sales trend. Besides this, the inventory pile-up and stock management of unsold BS-IV vehicles have also added to the problems in the sector. IANS