The Hindu Business Line : Here is a tractor for Rs 99,000!

FARMER-FRIENDLY: Mr Sharad Pawar (left), Minister for Agriculture, taking a look at the `Angad' tractor during a demonstration in the Capital on Thursday. - Ramesh Sharma

New Delhi , Aug. 26

WHILE the promised Rs 1 lakh car is yet to become a reality, a relatively unknown player — SAS Motors — has laid claim to have developed a 22 horsepower tractor that farmers can buy for just Rs 99,000.

The tractor, christened `Angad', is not only half the price of the cheapest tractor available in the market today, but also consumes 25 per cent less fuel and "can be repaired by a cycle mechanic and assembled at a tehsil-level garage," said Mr Ravindra Kumar, Managing Director of SAS Motors Ltd.

The Doon School-St Stephens college-educated Mr Kumar demonstrated his tractor at the sprawling fields of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) here on Thursday before an august gathering that included the Union Food and Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, and several Members of Parliament.

A dream-come-true for the humble Indian farmer, who shells out nothing less than Rs 2 lakh for a 25-hp tractor? Well not exactly. The Angad tractor is yet to receive a field worthiness certification from the Central Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institute (CFMTTI) at Budni in Madhya Pradesh. In fact, only on Monday, did the tractor obtain a Central Motor Vehicle Rules clearance from the Pune-based Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), which makes it road-worthy and compliant with emission norms.

"We have not yet cleared the tractor for field worthiness. Although it is not mandatory for a tractor to get our certification, the tractor would not qualify for finance through Nabard or other Government support in its absence," Mr S.C. Jain, Director of CFMTTI, said.

Mr Kumar said that the engine for the Angad has been sourced from Laidong, a Chinese company. "We have also inked a technical collaboration agreement with Schifeng, another Chinese company, which sells 1.2 million agricultural vehicles annually," he claimed.

Mr Jain was, however, sceptical about these claims. "This is not the first tractor with Chinese technology which has been sought to be introduced in the Indian market. We have received as many as 24 applications for Chinese tractors. Only six of these have been given clearance and that too in the third attempt. There were various problems with these tractors including that of torque, overheating and so on," he stated.

Mr Kumar said that the Angad tractor would be commercially launched next month and foresees a sizeable market for his product.

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