By 2024, Indian Roads to match US Standards: Nitin Gadkari

New Delhi, Dec 16

Union Road Transport and Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said that logistics cost, which is 16 per cent of GDP presently, will fall to single digits, by 2024.

"It is going to help us get more exports", the Minister said, adding that now is the time to increase our business and presence in the international market.

The Minister further stated that before 2024 ends, India's road infrastructure would be equal to the US standards. The Minister was addressing the annual convention and 95th AGM of FICCI.

Gadkari said that India is the fastest growing major economy in the world and is all set to achieve $5 trillion GDP by 2024-25. He said India is on the path to building an inclusive Bharat by following the vision of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi by boosting investment, economic growth, and employment creation to achieve sustainable development. However, "we need to have cooperation, coordination and communication between all stakeholders", he said.

In addition, Gadkari noted the research in battery chemistry and said, "We should be the leaders in the sector". He added that the government aims to double the automobile sector to Rs 15 lakh crore. "This will create new jobs and make India one of the biggest automobile manufacturers in the world.". Moreover, underscoring the importance of sustainability in the construction sector, he noted, "We are trying to minimise the use of cement and steel in construction work by adopting substitutes like fly ash, oil slag, waste plastics, demolition waste."

Minister Gadkari invited FICCI to prepare a comprehensive growth plan for the next fifty years for all sectors.

On the occasion, Sanjiv Mehta, President, FICCI, noted that the "all-inclusive, all-pervasive, and all-round development initiatives" of the government are transforming India, with each step bringing the nation closer to Aatmanirbhar Bharat. He added that the National Logistics Policy would be instrumental in creating an integrated pathway towards economic development. Moreover, he said, "the increased spending on infrastructure development is leading to a multiplier effect in rejuvenating the aggregate demand in the economy."

"Infrastructure construction alone has the potential to contribute 25 per cent of incremental growth in non-farm jobs by 2030", he added.