The Times of India          11.11.2010 

Don't know your pincode or street? Log on to MCG website

GURGAON: Do you know the pin code of the area you live in? Chances are you might not. This will change starting Thursday morning with the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) deciding to go for a major overhaul of its official website. The homepage will don a new look with all the minute details in the form of a digitized map of the city.

By selecting your colony from the dropdown box, one can figure out his/her ward, zone, police station, post office, pin code and names of relevant functionaries apart from precise geographical location. It also tells you if your colony is approved or not. And once the voter list for the coming municipal election is made public, it will also have a ward wise voter list.

"No other corporation in India, however, big or small has the feature which we are offering. The main objective is to bring more transparency and accountability in the entire system and also make information available to the citizens at the click of a mouse. Everything is online. We already have 11 transactional features on our website while seven more will be added," said municipal commissioner Rajesh Khullar.

MCG has roped in an IT firm, which has been creating websites for various municipalities in the United States. "This is the first time we are creating a website for any municipality in India and it has been very challenging. We had to learn how the government works and creating a database was tough since Haryana does not have a data center. We have tried to add lots of information to each query and very soon we will also provide a new URL for verification agencies like passport office so that they can verify the credentials of a person on our website itself," said Wagid Sheikh, director, Simplex Software Solutions.

The website also has a list of all State Public Information Officers (SPIO) along with their contact details. It also enables the citizens to access details of the official they need to contact for specific information. Besides submitting RTI applications, residents can also view the replies online.

The residents have given a thumbs-up to the initiative. This comes as good news for residents who are unsure of the authorities to approach to get their work done.

Bussiness Line  11.11.2010

Govt planning tax sops to promote electric vehicle use

Roudra Bhattacharya

New Delhi, Nov. 10

If you opt for an electric vehicle (EV), you may soon be exempted from paying taxes on it. Moreover, you may get to park for free.

The Heavy Industries Ministry has said that it is working on a national plan for the EV industry, which would include such incentives and help in developing the support infrastructure. Expected to be rolled out in a year, the draft notice has already been circulated between other Ministries concerned, while the final Cabinet approval is expected in December.

The plan is to form an enabling policy structure giving special incentives such as tax relief and waiver of other charges for EV customers. By reducing the ownership cost of EVs, it hopes to increase the popularity of such alternative transport solutions. The initial plan is to roll out pilot projects in some small and medium cities.

Top officials at the Ministry told Business Line that a ‘National Council at Ministerial level for Electric Vehicles' is being formed in a “mission-mode” approach as a central body for the industry and will concern itself with all matters. The National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) has already approved the project report.

“We will have a Central Board at the Secretary level, which would include around seven Ministries, such as Power, Finance, Road Transport, New and Renewable Energy and Urban Development. All of these have some funds allocated to them, which could be invested by the National Council in a more centralised and directed manner.

Though EVs enjoy a lower VAT in some States, the plan includes further tax concessions for both the industry and customers, setting up an R&D infrastructure and physical infrastructure such as charging stations and other initiatives such as free parking for EVs,” said an official.

The Council will also work with the State Governments to provide fiscal incentives for the use of Electric Vehicles. Currently, Delhi provides the highest incentives for electric two wheelers with a rebate on VAT amounting to 29.5 per cent reduction of the price.

New players

The nascent EV industry in India has recently seen the entry of new players. In the four-wheeler segment, the only domestic EV manufacturer is the Bangalore-based Mahindra-Reva Electric Vehicles. General Motors India is also working on an electric small car, while market leader Maruti Suzuki has also showcased its capability with the electric Eeco.

The electric two-wheeler industry, however, has quite a few players. This includes the Hero Group company – Hero Electric having the biggest market share at 39 per cent. Other players include Electrotherm (Yo Bikes), BSA and Avon.

The EV industry has a total capacity of close to four lakh units, however, due to low demand, production is just around 75,000 units, said the official.