India has done it in information technology, pharmaceuticals and steel. Can it now join the elite club of international car makers in building New Age hybrid cars that save on gas and go easy on pollution? A resounding yes comes from the Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, where students are building what could be the early prototypes of hybrid global market. Like many things marking India's emergence as a competitive global player, the hybrid car could also turn out to be a value-for money deal. Indian firms could make these cars cheaper at the same specifications, or tweak them up as needed.

A hybrid car runs on both elec tricity and petrol, trying to increase the mileage and reduce carbon emissions while overcoming shortcomings of electric cars that run on batter ies. A refuelling system to switch quickly between the two modes is critical for hybrid cars.

Auto giant Mahindra and Mahindra has funded DCE students with a Rs. 6.5 lakh grant to develop a car that in commercial form could cost Rs. 3 to 3.5 lakh on Indian roads. That is only a fraction of what Toyota charges for its global standard hybrid car, Prius, which costs around Rs. 10 lakh. Hybrid variations of popular models made by Honda and Ford cost roughly between $20,000 and $30,000 (Rs. 9 to 13.5 lakh). "It is expected that we will sign a contract with them (M&M) soon. The hybrid car is a low-maintenance vehicle and environment friendly," P.B. Sharma, DCE's former principal who recently became the vice-chancellor of Bhopal-based Rajiv Gandhi Technical University, told Hindustan Times.

Mahindra's senior vice-president in prod uct development, Arun Jaura, said DCE's single-seater project needs to pass a comprehensive technical and manufacturing feasibility analysis before any deal is formalised. M&M's in-house engineers have also been working on a hybrid system for the firm's popular outdoor vehicle, Scorpio. Jaura said a lot in this field would depend on consumer demand and innovative features but the country was on sound ground. "Indian technology is rapidly moving towards giving international players stiff competition," he said.

Anubhav Jain, Abhinav Bhatia and Nitesh Gupta, the three students behind DCE's hybrid car project, have not used a torque coupler to blend the power of the engine and motor. Instead, they designed a belt-and-pulley system that costs only Rs. 15,000 while the coupler, used by Toyota, costs Rs. 3.5 lakh.

"We have used lead acid batteries which are less expensive than nickel cadmium or nickel metal hydride batteries used in hybrid cars abroad," Jain said. " It is only a matter of time before India poses a stiff competition in the international arena in this segment."

From DCE in North Delhi to IIT in the city's south, a future journey could well be made in a hybrid bus. IIT-ians have developed a 100seater hybrid bus with a Rs. 4 crore government grant that they got about a decade ago, and Tata Motors provided an old test vehicle and a team of engineers. Their product now runs in the lush campus. Prof. R. Arockiaswamy of IIT's Instrument Design and Development Centre said it cost Rs. 18 lakh as an early prototype and can now be made for the markets at Rs. 25 lakh. An international brand would cost Rs. one crore.

"We score over international players in two aspects. We have the capacity to seat more persons and our bus is cost effective," the professor said. He said the Karnataka government was keen to hire IIT's experts as consultants to convert about 100 diesel buses into hybrids and the IIT also planned to approach the Delhi government for help.

The Tatas are also said to be interested launching hybrid cars, but are quiet about it. "Tata Motors is doing research and development work in all sectors," company spokesman Debashish Ray said.

Automobile analyst Veeresh Malik said the Indian consumer was open to new technologies but archaic rules were inhibiting innovation. For instance, Bangaloremade electric car Reva cannot get a Delhi registration, but happily runs in Scandinavia and Britain.

"Clearly, the problem does not lie with the government but with governance," Malik said. He said DCE's collaboration, if it works, could take three to five years to hit Indian roads, because of bureaucratic entanglements.