Home Regional Meeting at Lucknow FADA, in association with UP Motor Industries Association, organised a Regional Meeting at Hotel Clarks Awadh, Lucknow on 17th February 2006. Participants at the meeting comprising automobile dealers from Lucknow and nearby areas, also included Binod Agarwal, President, FADA; Vineet Chandra, State Chairman, UP & Uttaranchal; and V K Bansal, President, UP Motor Industries Association. Binod Agarwal, President, FADA, in his opening address, highlighted the major activities of FADA. He made a special mention of FADA Academy Pilot Project for training Sales Executives, Service Supervisors and Spare Parts Supervisors; G-10 Programme; Helpline Service for FADA Members and stepped up interaction with the manufacturers through SIAM and one-to-one meetings. He emphasised on the need for regular meetings of local members with a view to exchanging ideas and sharing their experiences and problems. New ideas emerging from such interaction could be implemented to improve the working and profitability of their dealerships and concerted efforts made to address the common problems affecting the retail automobile trade at the local and State levels. FADA would pitch in to take up the issues and problems having national proportions. Members present at the meeting appreciating the initiatives taken by FADA for the benefit and in the interest of automobile dealers suggested that the courses to train manpower for the automobile dealers could also be started at Lucknow. An interesting idea to observe a Courtesy Week or Service Week during which vehicles coming to workshops for repair or service could be extended discounts and special rates by all Lucknow automobile dealers, also came up during the interaction. Other prominent issues that came to fore included: The Supreme Court judgement regarding the levy of sales tax on warranty parts; and high level of life-time road tax in UP, particularly in the case of corporate buyers and diesel-driven cars. FADA President offered his unstined support to automobile dealers in UP for the initiatives and activities that may be undertaken by them.