Ashim Sharma, partner & Group Head, Business Performance Improvement Consulting  (Auto, Engineering & Logistics), Nomura Research Institute on his budget 2022 wishlist.

“The Budget 2022 is expected to help ease the pain of the automobile industry which is yet to bounce back to the levels seen in FY 2019. There were some signs of revival but the pandemic headwinds in the form of the second and the ongoing third wave have moderated the comeback.”

“Also the global chip crisis which is still continuing (and is expected to be a part of 2022) coupled with the recent rise in commodity and shipping freights have been dampeners in the growth revival. Added to this are the upcoming regulations which will further lead to price increases. The budget should develop a long-term vision for the automotive industry so as to be able to make it become a robust engine of India’s GDP growth and achieve the AMP (Automotive Mission Plan 2016- 2026) objective of making the automotive industry contribute to more than 12 percent in India’s GDP. The vision should include a long-term visibility on regulations as well as policy towards the industry to achieve the objective of sustainable, safe and affordable mobility options for India.