Pre- Session Note Submission - 3

Business, Government & Society

Submitted to:
Prof. M S Sriram

Submitted by:
Samarth Yadav (2011144)
Section – B
There is no denying that vehicular usage, and hence its pollution, is on a constant increase, and
so is the case in Delhi as well (In Delhi, the road traffic increased from 128 to 191 vehicles per
kilometres in the time frame from 2003 to 2009 1). The average annual rate of vehicle population
growth is about 9.150% for commercial and 7.40% for private vehicles2. In 2018-19, there
were around 32.5 lakh cars and 70.8 lakh two-wheelers registered in the Delhi NCR 3.
Alternatively, the share of public taxis, autos and buses are insufficient to meet the needs of
this city's burgeoning population, thereby leaving one no choice but to rely on private vehicles.
This, therefore, becomes one of the major reasons for bad air quality and heavy pollution in the
Delhi NCR region. To combat this, various laws, acts and norms have been identified and put
in place; however, the same directly affect the automotive industry.

With the rising use of individual vehicles, the automobile industry experienced a boom, and so
did the pollution. While the government tries to push stricter norms, the constantly changing
and no definite solution nature of the problem vexes the automotive industry. While the
graveness of the problem of pollution varies across geographies, a different set of norms
propels the problem for manufacturers manifold. While the government looks at the solution
to the question from the vehicular angle, the same cannot be negated that other factors beyond
the NCR boundaries can be equal contributors.

Therefore, it is essential that if the government plans to bring in new norms (for example,
moving to CNG, or movement from BS4 to BS6), these are made compulsory pan India, so as
the investments required in capital expenditure to conform to these norms, realistically reaches
break-even soon. Moreover, adoption of new technology comes with inhibitions from the
customer side, hence to aid the industry and bring about a radical change in consumer buying
behaviour, it is essential to incentivise them in making the change (e.g. subsidising the
electronic vehicle, promoting the usage of public transport etc.). Although the options like
Clean Diesel seem lucrative, the movement depends heavily on efficient engine technology,
which cannot replace the existing vehicles on the road. It only makes sense to bring this change
if this can be termed as a long term solution (which cannot be said with certainty due to the
non-sustainable nature of fuel energy).

While it is the duty of the state to provide good living conditions to its people, it cannot be
denied that industries play a significant role in development (the automobile sector contribute
more than 7% towards India's GDP4). Hence the technocrats and R&D institutes should try to
work with industry R&D to come with a feasible solution that solves the purpose for both.
More essential it is that while framing regulations, the interest of all the stakeholders is kept in
mind, the public welfare, the industry and the environment. To enable this, forming bodies
should structurally constitute people from varied areas of expertise, experience and interests.
In the broader aspect of approaching EVs as the future of transport, while the industry invests
in research towards efficient technology, the state should take up infrastructural advancements
in charging stations, hence partaking the load. Pollution control is a responsibility to be shared
equally by business, government and society, and therefore the price paid for it must also be
distributed.

1 Goyal, P.; Mishra, D.; Kumar, A. Vehicular emission inventory of criteria pollutants in Delhi. SpringerPlus
2013, 10, 216.
2 GNCTD. State of Environment Report for Delhi, Department of Environment and Forests; Government of NCT of Delhi:

New Delhi, India, 2010.

3 Economic Survey of Delhi, 2018-19

4 Bijin Philip, Dr. Silbert Jose S. V, Propitious Contribution Of Gdp And Performance Assessment In Automotive Sector – Be
Fence With Indian Economy, International Journal Of Scientific & Technology Research Volume 9, Issue 04, April 2020