Form JVs with US companies to leverage tech: Gadkari
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday made a case for Indian companies forming joint ventures with US companies to leverage their new technologies.
Addressing AMCHAM’s Annual Leadership Summit, Gadkari further said the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is exploring possibilities of taking help of US consultancy companies in preparation of detailed project report (DPR) for road projects.
“India is the fastest growing major economy... the US companies develop lots of new technologies, so it is very important for Indian companies to have a joint venture with US companies,” he said.
Noting that the supply chain is the most important part in logistics, Gadkari said logistics cost in India has come down to single digit, helped by rapid expansion of expressways and economic corridors.
Gadkari further said that six months ago, a report prepared by IIT Chennai, IIT Kanpur and IIM Bangalore revealed that India’s construction of expressways and economic corridors has helped reduce the country’s logistics cost to 10 per cent from 16 per cent earlier.
“India’s logistics cost has now come down to single digit,” he said.
Logistics cost is 12 per cent in the US, 12 per cent in European countries and 8-10 per cent in China.
Talking about India’s automobile sector, the minister said, “Within five years, our target is to make India’s automobile industry the number 1 in the world.”
“When I took charge as transport minister, the size of the Indian automobile industry was Rs 14 lakh crore. It is now Rs 22 lakh crore,” Gadkari added.
He said the automobile sector provides jobs to 4 lakh youths and the highest GST to the Centre and states. Presently, the size of the US automobile industry is Rs 78 lakh crore, followed by China (Rs 47 lakh crore) and India (Rs 22 lakh crore).
Gadkari noted that India’s dependence on fossil fuels is an economic burden, as Rs 22 lakh crore is spent annually on fuel imports and is an environmental hazard, making the adoption of clean energy crucial for the country’s progress.
The minister also said that the government has identified 10 highway stretches in different parts of country for plying green hydrogen-powered trucks with an aim to reduce vehicular pollution.
The identified highway stretches include Greater Noida-Delhi-Agra, Bhubaneswar-Puri-Konark, Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Surat, Sahibabad-Faridabad-Delhi, Jamshedpur-Kalinganagar, Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi, and Jamnagar-Ahmedabad, among others.
