The Hindu Business Line : Pune auto cluster project ready for debut drive

The project is being funded to the tune of Rs 50 crore by the Central Government, with the MCCIA and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation chipping in with the rest.

Pune , Jan. 7

THE Union Government's much-awaited auto cluster project is finally taking shape, with phase one of the project set to commence operations in Pune city's industrial hub, Chinchwad, on January 20. The project is expected to put Pune, long known as the Detroit of the East, on the national and international radar of auto companies planning to do business in India.

Phase one of the Rs 67-crore project, under the Government of India's Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme, is an integrated Rs 7.5-crore component and parts design CAD/CAM centre and a testing facility, the Director-General of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture (MCCIA), Mr D.K. Abhyankar, told Business Line when contacted.

Auto Cluster Development and Research Institute Ltd, which has been set up to promote the project, will help Pune's large community of small and medium enterprises, which supply to the large number of auto companies such as Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, among others, to upgrade their product quality and adopt newer technology to reduce time to market.

With global OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) now focussing on the country's component industry to source for their global requirements, SMEs in the region can use the sophisticated R&D equipment and testing facilities at the auto cluster to benchmark their products globally, he said.

Latest labs, facilities: In addition to the CAD/CAM centre, the auto cluster will have latest testing laboratories and facilities that it says large manufacturing companies do not have. For instance, the cluster proposes to house testing chambers that will test vibration levels for vehicles under various conditions.

"We are now in the process of talking to OEMs so that they can avail of the facilities and also ask their vendor community to take advantage of the services available under one roof," Mr Abhyankar said.

The Union Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, will inaugurate phase one of the cluster, which will kick off from rented premises by January 20. The project, a brainchild of the MCCIA, is being funded to the tune of Rs 50 crore by the Central Government, with the MCCIA and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation chipping in with the rest. "Work on phase two of the project is expected to take off in April this year," Mr Abhyankar said.