India Ponders Old-Vehicle Scrappage Plan

India’s transport and highway ministry is pushing for a new scrappage program that would encourage consumers to scrap cars older than 10 years and buy new ones.

Minister Nitin Gadkari and his executive staff will meet with Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley next week to propose the plan, The Economic Times reports. Gadkari says the proposal targets some 28 million vehicles.

The plan would offer owners fair value for their scrapped cars, provide discounts from carmakers and reduce the excise duty 50% on new purchases. Gadkari estimates the package would reduce new-car prices about 15% for participating buyers.

The ministry calculates the program could reduce emissions from India’s vehicle fleet by 25%-30% and lower fuel consumption by 845,000 million gallons per year.