Ashok Leyland seeks govt policy intervention for auto industry

Hinduja flagship firm Ashok Leyland on Tuesday called for government policy intervention for the automotive industry after being left out of the Rs 20-lakh crore Aatmanirbhar Bharat economic package.

The commercial vehicle (CV) maker said the auto industry, especially CVs, was the worst hit by a prolonged slowdown and then the COVID-19 pandemic, and there was an expectation of government support.

"There was an expectation of a direct stimulus package in the form of reduction in GST (goods and services tax), an incentive-based vehicle scrappage policy and a thrust on the purchase of buses for public transportation," Ashok Leyland Managing Director and CEO Vipin Sondhi said in a statement.

This is the need of the hour, and the government should consider a structured policy intervention, he added.

Further, Sondhi said, "An accelerated infrastructure spend in rural India would create assets, jobs and income in rural India, which would bring the movement of goods, thereby also providing a fillip to the CV industry."