The central government will invest Rs 1,700 crore (Rs 17 billion) in setting up world-class automotive testing and R&D infrastructure with foreign collaboration, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Santosh Mohan Dev said on Friday.
"We had floated tenders for setting up a car automotive testing facility for the auto industry and have received presentations from the foreign companies," he said at CII Manufacturing Summit in New Delhi.
Under the Planning Commission-approved project, the facilities would be set up by Automotive Research Association of India and come up in three places, he said, adding these facilities would be owned by the government but built with foreign collaboration.
The government has decided to offer 150 per cent deduction of expenditure incurred by the several key industries, including auto industry on in-house R&D for income tax purposes, Dev said.
The government is focussing on easing of all constraints hindering the investment to ensure that the manufacturing sector is able to compete globally, he said adding, Indian auto component industry is catering to a large number of vehicle manufacturers from countries including Japan, the United States, Germany and Korea who are operating in India.
Component manufacturers are exporting to more than 50 countries and almost 60 per cent of their output is going to original equipment manufacturers, he added.
On the tussle with Suzuki, Dev said it is all over and the government has good relations with the company.
