Goyal asks auto industry to make machines; reduce import dependency

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday asked the auto component industry to start manufacturing machines used in the sector and cut import dependency.

He also said that certain auto players in India who are still importing components would be out of competition as domestic products are more competitive than foreign ones.

"A lot of machines are still coming from other parts of the world. Get into the machine building. Why should we be dependent on foreign countries (for machines)," he said.

He added India has signed a free trade agreement with the EFTA bloc consisting of four European nations and the domestic players should look at collaborating with companies from Switzerland, which has expertise in machine making.

Switzerland is a member of EFTA.

Those who do not depend on Indian components will lose their competitive edge in the Indian markets, the minister said.

He also urged the industry to scale up production of components for electric vehicles as huge opportunities are there.

He added that there are huge opportunities in regions such as Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

"Make a five-year action plan on how we are going to move to EVs," he said.

Hailing the competitiveness of the auto component industry, he said the sector never seeks protection in any free trade agreement if they are getting equal market access.