High Hopes From Nirmala

BY APURVA RAI

I would once again like to thank the Finance Ministry for inviting suggestions on Budget-making exercise.

I am neither an economist nor an expert on finances but still have got lot of feelings and experiences which get reflected in this write-up where I wish to put up my thoughts about the state of our economy and the shape of things to come by.

My views are expressed in points on various issues so that they are easily comprehensible. It would not be suitable to put ideas in essay format as it needs lots of time to read and follow.

I have also put up links of my previous Blogs on Budget-making when Mr Arun Jaitley was the finance minister.

UNEMPLOYMENT

The issue of employment is crucial and the biggest challenge for the ruling government. However, it is not a commodity that can be produced and offered to the people instantly. To meet the challenge of unemployment I suggest:

a) Large Industries: There are lots of industries in the country but a large number of people get absorbed only when you have big sectors like steel, cement, automobiles etc.

Aviation Sector: We in India do not have aircraft manufacturing units. There should be special allocation in the Budget so that smaller planes, to start with, or choppers are manufactured within the country. This will bring revolution in the aviation sector besides generating huge direct or indirect employment. Remember, what happened after the launch of Maruti-Suzuki alliance in the auto sector. Today automobile industry is one of the biggest job-oriented industry.

Shipping Sector: Just like aviation sector shipping industry is also highly job oriented which goes on to give huge direct and indirect employment. To start with the government can give special funds for the manufacture of small/ medium motorboats, small ships and small cruise. Once this industry comes up and establishes itself with the help and support of the government not only shall the nation make progress but an export would earn handsome foreign exchange.

The biggest catch is that the prime minister is himself keen in starting waterways in the country. Secondly, India is surrounded by water on three sides and lots of countries around have huge demand for motorboats/ ships/ cruises and similar other water transport.

b) Farming/ Agriculture: India is basically an agrarian country but this sector has been grossly neglected, used by politicians for their selfish reasons and mired in unnecessary politics. The issue of poor farmers is raised during each election with the objective of grabbing power and once the power is in hand the government makes every effort to keep the candle burning by ways of numerous welfare schemes and financial helps. Alas, the farmer of India continues to remain poor, lives in pathetic conditions with near absent comforts of life and is debt ridden. Nothing has been honestly done to help farmers achieve higher yields per hectare, raise their standards of living, stop youngsters from abandoning farming and moving to cities as labourers or . I hope Ms Nirmala Sitharaman would address the issue keenly and show how much can be achieved in this sector if efforts are made genuinely.

Food Packaging Industry: Special provisions to food packaging industry are crucial to enhance the income of farmers, remove middlemen who buy agro-products at throwaway price, hoard them and later sell at inflated rates. 

The Budget of Ms Sitharaman should allow food industries to buy agro products directly from farmers and package them to be sold to consumers. If a company is manufacturing ketchup it should be allowed to buy tomatoes directly from the farmers. Secondly, the agro companies should be asked to set up plants in such areas where the products they need are cultivated. For example, if a company is packaging coconut water it should have plants in coastal areas only or in such places where coconut is grown in abundance. This will reduce cost of transportation and help farmers in approaching the industry conveniently.

Business Houses to Invest in Farms: There are a lot of traders, business houses, corporates who are rich or have lots of surplus funds. This can be diverted to the agriculture sector. Through the Budget the finance minister can allow these houses to negotiate with the Panchayats and push money on behalf of farmers. Thus more of rural youth will find jobs in agriculture sector in villages itself and one can easily stop migration of population to urban areas.

However, the modalities in this method need to be worked out. But if there is an honest method then the business houses can be given special rebates through budgetary provisions to go to the rural areas.

(NOTE: This is just a pointer as the issue needs to be discussed at length for more clarity.

In nut shell, the finance minister has to make sure that there is perfect harmony between agriculture/ industry and commercial railway. This is the only method that we can help uplift the status of farmers.

c) Govt Jobs & Govt Work Timings: The title might sound strange and weird but have you ever thought that our government offices work for nine hours officially and remain closed for remaining 15 hours! Yes, that’s the truth. Now, may I suggest that let the Budget talk of more intake in government jobs as there is plan to increase government work timings, i.e. practically working in two shifts. If you mull over two shifts 8 to 5 and 1 to 10 then we will need greater number of staff without much increase in infrastructure. The government can have higher intake in all its vacancies and this will go to on to address the problem of unemployment to some extent.

Benefits: There are some benefits of working in two shifts— first is that it will do away with traffic jams during working hours and thus save peoples’ time that they spend in travelling to offices. Second is that they will need less of half day or full day leaves as the shift will give them time and space to accomplish their small tasks before or after shifts.

Why: The idea of two shifts comes as we all know that the offices open up before the staff comes and remain open much after the majority staff has left. In between the lights are on, fans and air conditioners are working. The bills are paid but nobody bothers because it is sarkari kharcha. Then why not make better use of resources!

AGRICULTURE/ FARMER ISSUE/ RURAL INDIA

We have had a lot about rural sector, farmer issues and agriculture production. There has been a lot of politics over problems rekated to farmers who continue to live in poverty and debts despite governments announcing welfare schemes for them. Today the youth would prefer to work as a labourer in a city than harvesting a field in the village. The farmers of our country do not have access to even basic necessities of life. The reality has not changed in the past seven decades since India gained Independence and we all know it. So is this not the time to uplift the rural India and make it pride of nation? 

Investments in Fields: This is the issue which has led to the poverty and killings of farmers of our country. I seriously think that someone has to take the lead and come up with revolutionary and out of the box thinking to alleviate farmers out of their current pathetic condition. Hope the new finance minister will show prowess in this direction and make budgetary announcements that are reformative and beneficial. 

 

I find it surprising and ironical that a poor farmer takes loans to harvest in the fields so the yields are relished by the rich in their air conditioned dining rooms or plush restaurants in urban areas. Is it not disgusting and invites some food for thought?

I think that time has come when one should involve the rich in agriculture production or harvesting process. For this the finance minister should allow the business houses, industries, traders or businessmen to come forward and invest in the villages of India in collaboration with the farmers who have Gram Panchayats as their supreme bodies. For this the industries can be granted special exemptions or other financial benefits in order to divert their surplus funds to the rural sector.

The companies that make investments in villages can be granted ‘extra tax benefits’. However, they shall be just investor and would not become land owners. Even the farmers shall be leasing their farmlands to these business houses for reaping purposes only. These houses can hold discussions with Panchayats, sign agreements and may combine several villages or farming and bring in latest instruments or modern methods of cultivation.

This scheme has lots of benefits like the farmer does not have to take loans for farming, gets all facilities like seeds, fertilizers, distribution of produce and the methods of cultivation gets immensely modernized even in the remotest part of country. Yes, you get it right as the farmer is thus completely free from the tension of buying quality seeds, fertilisers or bringing tractors; yet they remain masters of their land. The industry and farmer/ Gram Panchayat can mutually work out over produce.

The Budget may announce special incentives for the Farmer-Industry Parnership (FIP).

Water Issues: Irrigation of fields is major cause o concern in rural India. The Budget should make special announcements for developing large canals/ lakes which connect the rivers and also store rain water.

Inter-linking of Rivers: Fund allocation and strict monitoring for inter-linking of rivers is another major announcement that we expect from the finance minister. Though arguments may be given regarding inter-state dispute over rivers but the government needs to take bold steps in this direction for the benefit of farmers.

There are several rivers which come in spate every year during monsoons while several areas still get less water. Funds needed to dig out canals from rivers in spate to be routed to such areas which are deprived of water. There are plenty of experts on water issues and special committee should be announced to handle this issue with all seriousness; despite all criticisms.

Desilting of River Beds: Flooding of areas has become a regular feature during monsoons due to rivers coming in spate. Desilting of numerous rivers is the need of hour and the finance minister should announce special funds for the issue. If done with sincerity and honestly the depth of rivers will increase and flooding of nearby areas can be checked.

Desilting and depth of rivers is more important as it would enable launching and functioning of water transport which is the prime dream of the prime minister. 

Kisan Malls: We in urban areas enjoy the glamour and benefits of super malls where all our needs are met under one roof. Why not similar malls in rural areas where villagers and farmers can visit and meets their requirements including those pertaining to farming. For example the mall can house shops for seeds, fertilisers, agricultural tools, banks, ATMs besides other commodities of everyday use. 

The Budget should make special package for such a provision so that the farmers and villagers too get modern facilities locally. Large groups like Reliance or Big Bazaar too can venture into this field and give benefits of their experience to the farmers.

Power Issue: The villages of India have complains for non-availabilty of electricity or power which hampers production esides giving tough conditions for everyday life.

Let there be special provisions for maximum use of solar/ wind power so that the crisis can be handled effectively. Budgetary provisions can lead to large-scale installation of solar plants, solar cookers, solar lamps etc for the benefit of farmers. Since we have huge open space in rural areas exploitation of solar power should not be a big problem. Even the prime minister has been campaigning for use of solar/ wind power.

For example, Rajasthan is one state which is hottest and gets maximum sunlight in the open fields. Why not have budgetary allocation to encourage industries which can convert heat into energy and help society? Similarly coastal areas get lot of wind

power and therefore such industries should be given grants so that wind is used as source of power.

POLLUTION/ TRANSPORT ISSUES

India is facing the biggest challenge of air, water and noise pollution alongside problem of traffic jams in cities be it small or big. I find that both the issues are inter-related and the Budget should address them simultaneously.

Vehicles, both commercial and passenger, are blamed for rising air pollution and traffic jams. I think the finance minister can control the situation, to some extent, through the Budget.

One, restrict people from buying cars according to their whims and fancies. So far there is no check how many cars a person buys and how many times he buys or sells them. The finance minister must introduce high tax for people buying cars before a stipulated time, say five years. Thus, now onwards nobody would be allowed to buy a car before five years or sell it before five years. If still he intends to do so let him cough up huge tax. 

Two, a lot of people go for luxury or very expensive or imported brands of vehicles. Let such people pay up ‘extra taxes’ because they are financially capable. More so, a person owning a small hatchback and another person owning a luxury imported car pay the same price for fuel though their buying and living capacities are far apart. Then why not tax the rich who is occupying more of road space and gulping more fuel?

Parking Tax: People buy cars and park them on roadside. Let the government introduce parking tax if the vehicles are parked on public roads.

Compact Vehicles: So far a car with less than 4,000 mm of length and upto 1200 cc of petrol engine are entitled for special tax benefits. Increase the definition now and make it 4,300 mm length and up to 1400 cc of petrol engine. This relaxation in the Budget will help people realize their dreams of buying a more spacious and powerful vehicle. But beyond that the Budget should be very strict and impose heavy taxes in increasing order. This means as the engine capacity and size of cars goes the tax levied on them too goes up in slabs.

Restrict Car Ownership: Nobody should be allowed to possess any number of cars he/she wants to buy. Impose tax on people who buy one car after another just for status symbol. Allow purchase of up to two cars falling in compact segment and that too once in five years only. But if you still want more pay for each car in increasing order, i.e. 10% for third car, 20% for fourth car and so on. More cars you buy more tax you pay even if it is small one.

Bicycles: Of late, there has been lot of emphasis on using bicycles for commuting. However, extreme weather conditions do not allow us to us this environment-friendly mode of transport. Therefore Budget should announce special sops for developing and marketing of small/ micro batteries which are cost effective/very affordable and can be fitted on bicycles. This will lead to an increase in popularity of bicycles. 

 

Moreover, reduce tax on cycles so that they become more popular.

Mopeds: For decades automobile companies have stopped manufacturing small mopeds which are highly fuel effficientt, eco-friendly, cheap and easy mode of transportation for the families, especially women. Budget should allow special rebate for battery cum petrol mopeds upto 50 cc engine capacity and having not more than 40 kmph of speed limit. The mopeds may even have three wheels so that women can use them widely.

Pollution/ Greenery: The government spends crores of rupees in plantations. Has it proved fruitful? Honestly speaking not. Make an announcement in the Budget that now onward public parks/ green belts shall be leased to private nurseries who can take it on contractual basis. This will increase green cover and will generate direct/ indirect employment. This task should be accomplished in joint agreement with RWAs.

Benefit: If instructions are issued then these nurseries can be asked to plant fruit trees on roadside and sell the produce. This will again give work to thousands of people and help them in making a healthy livelihood.

BANKING

The prime minister had announced savings account for every citizen of India in his previous term. However, things have fizzled out and the bank accounts are not operative or closed by now.

Bank in every village: The finance minister should announce banks for every village. Private sector banks that are shy of going to rural India or smaller cities should be compulsorily pushed there. The budget should also announce Zero balance accounts in small cities/ villages so that banking becomes a habit and convenience for the people.

The Budget can announce special incentives for private banks if they go to rural or semi-urban areas. We aim that all our cities, big or small, are developed and have all such facilities that are available in metropolitan towns.

The prime minister has a very valid point when he talks of cashless transactions. However, the reality is that cashless transactions have yet to catch up. It is ridiculous to find that many small businessmen or street vendors have gone cashless while many large stores demand cash only.

Cashless Payments: To make things convenient the Budget should reduce charges on POS and make it compulsory for all shopkeepers to use them. The Budget should make it compulsory for every shopkeeper to open a bank account in the name of the shop and the account should be linked to his Aadhar number. This way he shall be less likely to avoid taxes and will accept ATM/ Debit/ Credit cards. Hopefully this measure will be able to check black money operations as well.

Restrict Bank Accounts: No salaried person should be allowed to own more than three Savings a/c. This will help the government to keep better check on people who earn bribes and are corrupt.

Check Traders/ Businessmen: Similarly, there can be several categories for businessmen to have Current and Savings bank accounts. If it is a shopkeeper who files GST at lowest level he can be allowed to own just one Current a/c and three Savings a/cs. In the same manner the businessman can be allowed more bank accounts but only when he declares how much tax he is paying to the government.

The size and location of your shop will determine your tax liability because every shopkeeper/ trader tries to dupe the government by showing losses whereas he earns a good amount in cash.

There is great potential to collect taxes from businessmen and shopkeepers if they are checked properly. They are the biggest tax evaders as well. The Budget should tighten its noose around them.

BLACK MONEY AND CORRUPTION

The prime minister has been promising to root out corruption at ground level and the BJP government has come to power on the

promise that it will end corruption and that it will check flow of black money in the society.

Housing: We all know housing for all is the motive of every government that comes to power irrespective of party lines. Even the BJP promises that it will make sure that every family has a house of its own somewhere in the country. 

But we also know that there are people who have many houses in different cities. There are also people who have luxury homes and some have very modest dwelling units. The Budget should make sure that such disparities are checked and equality to certain level prevails in the society.

So far housing sector has attracted highest amount of black money and it has become the biggest source of investment. Housing is a necessity and how can it be source of investment? If it is so, then the Budget should make provisions that flow of black money gets checked in housing sector.

Restrict House Ownership: The way we have talked of checking number of car ownership we need to restrict number of houses owned by one person or one family.

After all, housing is a need and not an investment. The Budget should make provisions that a person or a family can own a house in relation to its income and tax paid to the government. If I am paying tax in 10% slab I should be allowed to own maximum of two houses anywhere in the country. This can go on in the same manner but the Budget can a cap on maximum ownership of houses/ property. After all, how many properties does one need even if the person/family is paying highest tax?

Travel: Lot of cash money or the Black Money is spent in buying train tickets or air tickets. The Budget should make provisions to check this practice. 

Would it be possible, through Budgetary provisions, to check how many times can a person travel in trains or goes abroad through agent on an excursion?

Weddings & Extravaganza: Huge amount of Black Money is spent in weddings and other show off business. The Budget should impose taxes if someone is going for luxury weddings in luxurious hotels or farm houses. We all know a lot of black money is pent in such weddings and a lot of food and other material goes waste after the ceremonies are over.

SENIOR CITIZENS

The government has been serious about the pathetic condition of senior citizens. Many schemes are launched but the condition of older generation continues to be a matter of concern.

IT Exemption: To empower senior citizens they should be completely exempted from income tax after the age of 65 years. This means every person of the country who has crossed the age of 65 years will not have to pay tax on his/her income, interest earned from savings account or fixed deposits. Of course, this facility will be misused by youngsters as they will deposit lot of money in te names of senior citizens. But there is a catch in this shortcoming too; it will make elders financially stronger as it is their signatures only that will play the crucial role.

Dedicated Wards in Hospitals: The Budget should announce dedicated wards for the elders in every hospital. This way they will have separate doctors and space for their treatment.

Free Travel: I am not sure how the Budget shall handle it but I would love if the government could announce Free Train travel for senior citizens above 65 years of age along with their spouse once in a year upto 15oo kilometres. In other words, let the government make special provisions for Free LTC for all senior citizens above the age of 65 years. 

All our lives we are working and stay busy raising children and meeting social obligations. Old age is the time when elders should be able to see the country with the spouse and the Budget can make it by granting one travel free every one or two years. This will make them happy people, and this will also boost tourism in a great way.

INDIAN RAILWAYS

Since Rail Budget too is part of General Budget a suggestions for our benefit.

Two Divisions: Can we have two entirely separate divisions in Indian railways— One passenger and Two, Commercial. The working and funds for the divisions should come separately and there should be separate specialised staff for each of them

Rail Travel and Reservation: The passenger trains are continuously running in losses despite the fact that not a single of them is empty. The reservations are not easy to get as the trains are booked much in advance.

The Budget should take serious not of train reservation issue. I feel that the cost of ticket must go up with travel time, i.e. the price of ticket booked one month earlier cannot be the same as the ticket booked one hour before departure. 

Travel Only When You Must: We all know the crowd in our trains. This happens because we travel as and when decide to move out. While travelling is a must when you have a reason but one has to think about unnecessary travel as well. The Budget may check this practice by making train journeys costlier in increasing order after a person travelled two times in a single month. This means that a person travels on prescribed fare twice a month but coughs up more in increasing order for every subsequent train journey in the same month. This will not only check number of passengers but will also bring higher revenues for the Indian Railways.

Stop Free Passes: The finance minister should immediately stop all free rail travel passes that are given to lots annually. I understand that railway employees get many passes in a year but their number should be curtail to a maximum of two. When a poor man/ unemployed person can pay for his/ her travel then why free passes who are employed, financially self- sufficient and have all the means to enjoy their life.

Goods/ Commercial Trains: The stations for all commercial operations should be separate from passenger stations. This means the goods train will not come to stations where passenger trains are coming. Separate stations for commerce will decongest stations and will bring more professionalism.

All commercial/ goods train stations should be located either in rural or semi-urban areas. To ferry these goods to bigger cities or metropolitan towns the stations may be developed outside their periphery, some 50 to 100 kms away to say.

Cashless Bookings Only: Indian Railways should stop all kinds of cash transactions. Every booking, passenger or commercial should be cashless compulsorily. 

Also read my previous Blogs (copy/paste given limks)

Rail Budget

http://apurvaopinion.blogspot.com/2017/01/indian-railways-can-earn-well-too.html 

General Budget

2016: http://apurvaopinion.blogspot.com/2016/01/budget-2016-your-attention-please-mr.html 

2017: http://apurvaopinion.blogspot.com/2017/01/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html

 

 

HARRIER IN A HARE RACE !

 

Crazy For Cars

By Apurva Rai

What a co-incidence! Tata Motors is launching its premium and expensive Sports Utility Vehicle, Harrier,  in the same year when it has announced to withdraw its longest serving rupee one lakh people's car, Nano.

There could not be better new year gift in 2019 for Tata Motors than the launch of it premium SUV Harrier. The luxurious SUV was long awaited by those crazy for cars as they had been following every news or picture leaks that were doing the rounds on internet. With the launch of Harrier Tata Motors has proved that an indigenous company too is capable of manufacturing and marketing a premium product in such a segment of automobile world where many foreign giants are struggling to keep themselves afloat. Not a mean achievement by any means for an automobile company which is our very own and has grown as a tough competitors from abroad who are seen as biggies in the auto world.

The launching of Tata Harrier was announced on January 23 even though the bookings had begun a couple of weeks of ago. 

ABOUT HARRIER 
The SUV segment has registered fastest growth in the Indian automobile industry in recent years and Tata's have done proud to the nation by developing and bringing indigenous technology to give a tough time to some top foreign brands. 

 
To catch the SUV segment the Tata's had launched Nexon in 2018 and the compact vehicle has brought many laurels for the company.

To capture yet another premium segment the company has now rolled out the Harrier in 2019. To quote Tata Motors CEO and MD Butschek, Harrier will turn out to be a 'game changer' in the Indian automobile market. Says Mayank Pareek, president of passenger vehicle business unit, "The all new Harrier is our most premium offering yet and will attract aspiring buyers. Harrier is a testament of our continued efforts to deliver global products. So you are getting a JLR product at Indian price."

The spirit of Tata Motors is appreciable as they have always strived to give you what was hitherto beyond your reach. A large section of our society could just dream of a Jaguar but never dare to buy. Tata's have made it possible now just the way they had made the common man's dream of owning a car come true by launching Nano about a decade ago.

The luxury vehicle is based on the remarkable Jaguar Land Rover D8 Omega Arc platform. Harrier rides into India with a

powerful 2.0 litre Fiat Multijet diesel engine which also drives Jeep Compass in India. The vehicles brings with it several luxury features making them 'affordable' for Indian car lovers. 

The Harrier is a five-seater SUV and is made available in four variants-- XE, XM, XT and XZ. The price range starts from Rs 12.69 lakhs for XE and goes upto 16.25 lakhs for the top of the line XZ model. As for dimensions the SUV is 4,598mm in length (longest among rivals), 1,894mm in width, 1,706mm height, has a ground clearance of 205mm (highest), 2,741mm of wheelbase and a boot space of 425 litres.  It weighs 1675kg, which is 91kg more than its closest rival Jeep Compass. The vehicle is being manufactured at Pune facility of the company.

Does not sound very bad if it truly carries the Jaguar spirit. Company has big hopes from the vehicle which is looks attractive, muscular, powerful besides being comfortable and a solid promise to give the passenger a unique driving experience which, according to the company, is 'Above All'.

TOUGH COMPETITORS ON ROAD

Several SUVs in the premium segment are already present on the Indian road and it is not going to be an easy ride for the

Harrier. 
 When compared with its engine closest rival to Harrier is Jeep Compass, an American brand of high repute. Both vehicles have same machine under their bonnet though Compass is costlier than its Indian counterpart.

Harrier is being compared to several other SUVs doing well in the Indian market. I put them in to separate categories-- those having less than 2.0L engine and other with 2.0 L or bigger engine.

Those falling in smaller than 2.0L engine are Hyundai Creta, Renault Duster, Nissan Kicks, Mahindra Marazzo and Ford Ecosport. Vehicles with 2.0L engine or bigger one are Jeep Compass, Mahindra XUV 5OO, Mahindra Scorpio, Toyota Innova, Honda CRV, smaller version of Ford Endeavour and Tata's own Safari. Prices of all these vehicles vary according to the features they offer. 

The rivals to Harrier are strong players, well established, full of power, features, good looks and brimming with confidence. It would certainly not be an easy job for Tata Motors to find a place in the market and to convince the customer to change his mind. Harrier may bring immediate cheers for the company executives but the question is will Harrier become a long-term player in the Indian automobile market or rise on popularity graph? 

The management of the company is gung ho with the launch of Harrier and is patting its back. The premium SUV might take a good start and show some quick results as well since it has received a good number of initial bookings too. 

MANY DRAWBACKS

The Harrier has embarked on a journey that is full of rough road as of day. 

First thing first. Even though the company claims to be offering a Jaguar experience at Indian price the truth is entirely different. Jaguar is Jaguar and Harrier is a different product with a hint of features borrowed from Jaguar to please the passengers. Both the vehicles are poles apart. Still one should appreciate the company's endeavour to give the rider a feel of his dream car. 

A major hurdle in the success is certainly going to absence of petrol engine in Harrier. Many people do not prefer diesel engines for various reasons and even the environmentalists keep raising slogans against it. Diesel engine is dying in India slowly. Many companies bring petrol version of their vehicle simultaneously but in the case of Harrier Tata Motors have not done so. Let us see when their mind changes!

Harrier is much talked-about SUV today and that is the challenge in itself. The company will have to make sure that the popularity of this premium SUV does fade away like most other Tata cars. It is a harsh fact that most of Tata passenger vehicles were forgotten after a few years of their launch. At least, this is what second opinion feels based on its observations.

POOR POPULARITY

A flashback gives a clear picture of the great hype that Tata cars created at the time of their launch but many of us do not even remember them, leave alone their sightings on road. Regrettably, not even a single model from Tata Motors has kept its name alive for even one decade except the Nano. On the other hand, there are vehicles from other players which are on Indian roads for decades and have made a place for them, like for example, Maruti Alto, Maruti Wagon R, Mahindra Scorpio, Hyundai Santro, Hyundai Verna and Honda City. These vehicles live in the hearts of people and have earned their trust. 

Tata Motors has launched many cars in more than a decade but almost all of them have gone into oblivion other than the Nano. Can you recall the hype generated by hatchback Tata Indica which was soon followed by Indica Vista, a compact sedan Indigo ECS and the big Manza and Indigo Marina. Indica did very well as a taxi but people largely did not buy it for personal use. This perplexed the Tata Motors as it earned the reputation of being a taxi-producing company. 

To reverse the taxi image Tata's developed a new 1.2L Revotron/ Revotorque engine, both in petrol and diesel versions respectively. Then came a new range of vehicles with the new engine like the hatchback Bolt and compact sedan Zest. Again both couldn't do well and the company further fine-tuned the engine to fit it in a range of fresh fleet-- hatchback Tiago, compact sedan Tigor and the compact SUV Nexon. Of these Tiago has brought some smiles and the Nexon is making Tata Motors proud of their product. 

That's not all. Tata had many other vehicles  but their names are almost forgotten. To recall I must mention Tata Safari, the successful SUV now almost lost. Then there was Sumo which mostly served as taxi. A refined version Sumo Gold  was also launched but this too failed to perform. We had also seen the launch of Tata Aria which proved to be an disappointment. This MUV (Multi Utility Vehicle) was rechristened as Hexa which has done comparatively better but there is no reason to feel happy about it too. 

NANO COMES, NANO GOES

The management had the challenge of reversing its taxi image and the turnaround came when Ratan Tata, owner, announced a 'people's car' at the price of a mid-range bike. Thus came the Nano, the rupee one lakh people's car. Nano generated a massive hysteria perhaps never seen India after the Maruti 800. It would not be wrong to say that Nano stole much more headlines than M-800 and became a talk of the town. 

The Nano was first showcased at the Ninth Auto Expo at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. I still remember I had taken leave from my office and had gone to the bi-annual automobile fair where Ratan Tata drove in a white Nano on the stage and the massive crowd gathered there to have a glimpse was overwhelmed. The dream of owning a car for the common man seemed to come alive with a price tag of rupee one lakh. 

The four-door, four-seater car with 0.6L engine placed on its rear is the simplest of the passenger vehicle that Tata Motors have so far produced. But unlike their other much hyped bigger vehicles this one performed best and is there on the roads for almost a decade.

Sadly, the situation has changed today as people do not want 'people's car' anymore. Seeing a drop in bookings the company has announced to stop its production this year itself. Ironically, Nano is being withdrawn in the same year when company is launching it premium SUV, Harrier; a top of the line vehicle arrives with big hopes and another with bottom of the line vehicle with a beautiful and successful history departs.

NEVER SAY DIE SPIRIT

With the launch of Harrier there is no reason why Tata's should not smile and pat their back; after all they have brought and international level product at 'Indian price'. This is not the time to rue why their cars came and went, why they did not last long like several others. This is the time when company has raised the bars for its challengers, has put up new standards in the market, has come up with innovations and fresh technology which nobody ever thought of. Past is past, present is here and the future is in their hands.

Tata Motors has proved one thing ever since it ventured into passenger car segment that the company is a serious player in the market, never going to relax, always striving for innovations and other manufacturers should not treat it lightly. Tata Motors has brought name and fame for the country and has many admirers who take pride in buying 'made in India' or 'make in India' product.

Harrier is, no doubt, an international class SUV packed with features which no other car manufacturer ever thought of bringing in and at a price which is very lucrative.

Tata Motors has never fallen short on people's aspirations and, therefore, Second Opinion feels that the company should now focus on three points-- profitability, popularity and credibility. The success of Tiago and Nexon has given every reason to smile and this is the time to refresh its image and earn credibility, work for popularity and, in return, earn profits.

Hats off to Tata Motors and best wishes on the launch of spectacular SUV called Harrier.