Mad in India

H. Kishie Singh

No, this headline this is not a misprint. It is quote from Rajiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Autos. The MD took potshots at the government and judiciary and said, “If your innovation depends on the government and judicial process, it will not be Made in India but Mad in India! After five years, we are still waiting to sell our four-wheeler in the country”!

What is he referring to? Quadricycles.  Agreed, it is a weird looking and strange sounding contraption. Originally, it was called a four-wheel motorcycle. The rider sat straddling the engine. It had foot pegs and handle bars. There was a place for a pillion rider. All this made it a motorcycle. For stability, this bike was given four wheels. The young and old loved it for its fun quotient. To give it a go anywhere capability, four-wheel drive was introduced. It was good on-road and off-road. 

Its popularity increased world wide as a Recreational Vehicle (RV). Forest rangers began to use it.  In the North American Midwest, which receives heavy snowfall, the police used it. It was better than the snow scooter, which was good only on snow. The quadricycle was good on snow, mud, slush and tarmac. The contraption Bajaj is making is nothing new. It is the largest manufacturer of three wheelers in the world. With three wheelers being inherently unstable, Bajaj added a fourth wheel. It became a quadricycle. It was called RE 60. All the bright green three wheelers on the city roads have the designation RE for rear engine.

As it was intended for urban use, a body was added. The monocoque body has four doors. It has a squarish space age look. Rajiv Bajaj calls it the Qute. It offers a 217 cc single cylinder engine that gives 36 kmpl, has top speed of 70 kmph. It meets European quadricycle guidelines.

Is the government serious about a clean and green India? There are no positive indications of such a thought process. Certainly no action. So many things could have been done but nothing has been done. The easiest would have been to register only CNG or LPG engine cars to be registered in the NCR. It would have made a difference within a year. That would have been the first step of a million kilometers.

I can personally vouch for LPG. It is half the price of petrol, gives almost the same mileage and has very low emissions. As it is clean burning, it doesn’t foul the spark plugs. They last longer as does the engine oil, no carbon deposits. It is a win-win situation for everybody. Most of the ills of the country could be dealt with one stroke, from dependence on imports to cleaning up the environment. 

Another point that bodes ill: the government has withdrawn benefits to mild hybrid vehicles under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric (FAME) vehicles. Simply put, hybrid vehicles will face higher taxes while gas guzzling SUVs and bigger sedans will have lower taxes. Tax benefits to large SUVs have come down to 43 per cent from 55 per cent. Duty on electric vehicles has gone up from 6 per cent to 12 per cent.

Does this make sense?

Happy Motoring!