Circular economy is imperative for India’s future : Bhupender Yadav

New Delhi: Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav highlighted the significance of transitioning to a circular economy and described it as an imperative for India’s future.

Delivering the keynote address at the Special Ministerial Session of the 3rd International Conference on Sustainable Circularity, organized by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), in New Delhi, Yadav emphasized the importance of growth with environmental sustainability and called upon industry leaders for drawing inspiration from nature’s efficient recycling systems.

Emphasizing on ‘Nature Positive Recycling’, the Minister stated that “Nobody recycles like Nature”.

The Minister called upon the august gathering to make Nature their ideal when recycling strategies are planned.
Themed ‘Nature Positive Recycling’, the conference brought together key stakeholders from the automotive industry to discuss sustainable development and circularity.

Yadav commended SIAM for initiating discussions on circularity amidst the rapid growth of India’s automotive sector, now the third-largest market globally in passenger vehicle sales.

He outlined the three-fold benefits of circularity:

Vehicle Scrappage Policy (2021): Mandates fitness tests for passenger vehicles older than 20 years and commercial vehicles older than 15 years, replacing polluting vehicles with BS-VI-compliant models. This is projected to reduce up to 17% NOx and 11% PM2.5 emissions from freight trucks.

End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) Rules, 2025: To be effective from April 1, 2025, these rules ensure environmentally sound scrapping of vehicles, with manufacturers fulfilling Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) by ensuring ELVs are properly scrapped in registered facilities. The scrapping of vehicles is also incentivized.

Promotion of Electric Vehicles (EVs): Initiatives like the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) and the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes are driving EV adoption on a huge scale. EV sales are expected to reach 35% of total vehicle sales by 2030, avoiding 5 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

The Union Minister called on SIAM and the automotive industry to lead the transition to a circular economy by incorporating recyclable designs, promoting sustainability in dealership operations, and enhancing consumer awareness