Hybrid cars or the ones which pollute Earth the least are very much in demand all over the world. In India however with the Government apathy, there aren’t many hybrids to be seen. All we had in India were the Maini Reva cars, a few Honda Civic hybrids and the very costly Toyota Prius. Not to forget the stratospherically priced Porsche Cayenne Hybrid. Well, that is all set to change with the Indian government waking up from its slumber. It seems that they have finally recognized the need of saving Mother Earth as also reduce the dependence on fossil fuels. The Government would now be on a hybrid drive, encouraging manufacturers to come up with hybrid cars. For the small cars or to be precise, ones measuring less than 4 meters are classified as small cars and entail to only a 10% excise duty whereas anything bigger than 4 meters gets classified under in the big car category and are levied 22% tax.
Mr Praful Patel, Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister is said to head this drive. It is said that he would put forth the proposal for having excise sops for development of green (hybrid) cars as also sponsor for the research involved in them. A high level panel is to be formed, based on the approval from the cabinet and one which would give the green signal to this project. It is also noted that maximum by September 2011, this proposal would be finalized. The Toyota Prius is said to be the brand mascot for a greener India. It is widely known that the Toyota Prius is one of the most acclaimed hybrid cars in the world but then in India, it sells in paltry numbers due to its very high sticker price of Rs 25 lakhs. If everything goes alright, this car would be promoted by the Indian Government and be given many fiscal sops as well.
