New National Auto Policy coming soon: Minister Anant Geete
New Delhi, Sep 5 : A new National Auto Policy is currently being readied which will lay emphasis on reducing vehicular emissions as well as on green mobility, Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete said on Wednesday.
Also in the offing is the second edition of the Centre's Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles (Fame) programme which expires in December, Geete said in his inaugural address at the annual session here of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA).
"We are going to come out with a new auto policy which will accomodate the wishes of the entire industry and take their suggestions into account," Geete said.
According to ministry officials here, discussions with various stakeholders have been on for the past six months to frame the new policy, which envisages having a nodal regulatory body for the automobile industry.
The draft policy released earlier had recommended rationalisation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure for automobiles by replacing the current classification criteria with a composite criterion based on vehicle length and carbon dioxide emissions.
"Government is also going to come out with a Fame 2 scheme in the future as Fame 1 is coming to an end on December 31," Geete said.
"I am currently not in a position to divulge more details about Fame 2 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make more announcements on this at the electric mobility summit here later this week."
Geete complimented ACMA for keeping the Indian industry up-to-date with the latest innovations, and said the body is an integral complement to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) who are going to hold their annual session here on Thursday.
In his address earlier, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the country's economy needs to be strengthened by reducing crude oil imports through use of bio-fuels and increasing exports by the automobile industry.
"We are thinking seriously on how we can reduce the 'permit raj' in the field of alternate fuels and electric mobility," he said.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
