Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday urged Indian companies to form joint ventures with US firms to leverage emerging technologies and strengthen India’s infrastructure and manufacturing sectors.
Speaking at the AMCHAM Annual Leadership Summit, Gadkari said the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is also considering engaging US consultancy firms for preparing detailed project reports (DPRs) for highway projects.
“India is the fastest-growing major economy. US companies develop lots of new technologies, so it is very important for Indian companies to have joint ventures with US companies,” Gadkari said.
Highlighting improvements in logistics infrastructure, the minister said India’s logistics costs have fallen sharply due to the rapid development of expressways and economic corridors. Citing a study by Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, he said logistics costs have dropped from 16 per cent to around 10 per cent and have now further declined into single digits.
Gadkari noted that logistics costs in the US and Europe stand at about 12 per cent, while China’s logistics costs range between 8-10 per cent.
On the automobile sector, the minister said India aims to become the world’s largest automobile industry within the next five years. He said the sector’s size has expanded from ₹14 lakh crore when he assumed office to ₹22 lakh crore currently.
According to Gadkari, the automobile industry generates employment for nearly 4 lakh youth and contributes the highest GST revenue to both the Centre and state governments.
The minister also stressed the need to accelerate the shift toward clean energy and alternative fuels, noting that India spends nearly ₹22 lakh crore annually on fuel imports.
As part of efforts to reduce vehicular pollution, Gadkari said the government has identified 10 highway stretches for the operation of green hydrogen-powered trucks. The routes include Greater Noida-Delhi-Agra, Bhubaneswar-Puri-Konark, Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Surat, Sahibabad-Faridabad-Delhi, Jamshedpur-Kalinganagar, and Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi, among others.