New Delhi, June 23 (IANS) The Centre signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for its scheme of replacement of old trucks and buses in the Delhi–NCR region with owner of Bharat Benz, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), an official statement said on Tuesday.

Under the agreement, the OEM will provide an 8 per cent discount on the ex-showroom price of eligible trucks and buses purchased under the scheme, the statement from Ministry of Road Transport & Highways said.

For electric vehicles, the discount shall be capped at the discount applicable to an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle of the equivalent Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) category.

In addition to the 8 per cent discount offered by participating OEMs, the Central government will provide 5 per cent interest subvention and fixed monthly fuel vouchers for a period of five years, the ministry said

Participating state governments will provide up to 100 per cent concession on motor vehicle tax for a period of ten years and waiver of registration fees for eligible beneficiaries under the scheme, the statement noted.

Earlier, Ashok Leyland, Switch Mobility, Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra, SML Mahindra have also signed a MoU with the government for implementation of the scheme. These companies have a combined market share of 85 per cent in trucks and buses, which provides significant coverage for implementation of the scheme.

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari had in April forecasted that India’s logistics cost will drop to 9 per cent at the current robust pace of road infrastructure development.

Minister Gadkari also underscored the importance of alternative fuel and urged the industry to use electric trucks to move their goods from factories to ports, an official statement noted.

—IANS

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