There has been a tepid growth in ownership of cycles in over a decade in India due to its high price and poor infrastructure facilities, a report released by The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) showed.
In 2011, 45% households (111 million households) owned a bicycle compared to 44% (84 million) in 2001. The report stated that while 46% of the rural households in India owned a cycle, in comparison to this, almost every household (96%) in rural China owned a bicycle.
"Growth in cycle ownership in India over the last one decade has been very slow. Household cycle ownership increased at a rate of about 3% per annum between 2001 and 2011," the report released here today stated.
R K Pachauri, Director-General at TERI said that cycles help the poor in reaching out to the socio-economic growth opportunities and there is a need to address the issue of low growth of cycling in the country.
"Cycles enhance the socioeconomic growth opportunities of low- income households in the country by enabling them to access jobs, markets, schools, and medical facilities in a fast and affordable manner" Unfortunately, however, cycle ownership and use of cycles as a mode of transport in India is steadily declining. There is hence an urgent need to examine the issues constraining the growth of cycling in India," Pachauri said.
The report cited many reasons for low growth in ownership of cycles including high prices, misconception that cycling is unsafe and poor city planning.
According to the report, the price of the cheapest cycle in rural India was around 15% of the annual per capita rural income as compared to 2.5% in rural parts of China.
The report also highlighted that the cycling industry is facing challenges in meeting domestic demand and staying globally competitive. While 15.5 million cycles were produced in India in 2012-13, 12 million of them were sold in the market, the report stated.
It stated that while cycle exports went up by about 10% a year in the last five years, the imports have risen by a steep 25% per annum in the same period.
TERI"s survey showed that lack of finance was one of the major constraints in the purchase of bicycles for cyclists.
The report has recommended making cycles affordable by exemption of tax on cycle production and sale, waiving taxes on cycles purchased by low-income population and availability of financing options.
