The Hindu Business Line : Bengal Govt keen on auto parts cluster development

Eastern angle
Indian auto components market size pegged at $28 b.
Ural India setting up heavy vehicles plant at Haldia.
`Eastern region has great scope as it is cost-competitive'.

Kolkata , Aug 22

The West Bengal Government has offered to work with industry and chambers of commerce to facilitate "cluster development" of the auto components industry in the State.

Speaking at a workshop on `Prospects of Development of Auto Component Industry in West Bengal', organised today by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce, Mr Manabendra Mukherjee, Minister for Cottage and Small Scale Industries, said that the State has of late been attracting investment from several automobile manufacturers.

Ural India is setting up a heavy commercial vehicles plant at Haldia and a two-wheeler manufacturing facility at Chinsura in Hooghly district.

Tata Motors has zeroed in on Singur, also in Hooghly district, as the location for its small car project.

As such, development of the auto components sector would be crucial.

"The Government and industry can work together for cluster development of the auto components industry in the State.

"A concrete proposal from the chamber in this regard will be welcome," Mr Mukherjee said and urged the chamber to commission a study on HR needs in a growing auto components business scenario.

Mr Moloy Chowdhury, Executive Vice-President of Hindustan Motors, said that the Indian auto components business was on the fast track with the total market size being pegged at $28 billion.

It registered a CAGR of 20 per cent between 2000 and 2005.

India is fast emerging as a "leading competitive country" in the global auto components scenario.

Eastern India has great scope in this regard especially since the region is situated in the "heart of India's steel geography, is cost-competitive and is blessed with logistics infrastructure in terms of ports."

Mr Ravi Sehgal, Chairman, Engineering Export Promotion Council, Eastern Region, said that the Indian auto components business is expected to grow to about $40 billion by 2015.

He presented a case for the setting up of joint ventures for auto components manufacturing in India and for servicing OEMs and Tier I companies in Europe and the Asean region.

Mr B.B. Parekh, Head of Strategic Sourcing Department, Tata Motors, said that the company would outsource 80-85 per cent of the components for its small car project.

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