"I don't think there is any problem in the road sector. The changes this year and next year will be so significant that earlier I used to say our highway road network would match that of the US, but now I say that within two years, our highway network will be even better than the United States," he added.
Addressing an event, the Union Minister highlighted the recent developments in the sector. Speaking at the event, Gadkari exuded confidence that India will surpass the US in EV adoption and manufacturing in the next five years. The Union Minister explained the ministry's works and added that the distance between cities such as Delhi, Dehradun, Jaipur, or Bengaluru will drastically reduce.
When asked about Tesla's entry into the country, the Union Minister said, "It is an open market; whoever has the power, come and make it and compete in the prices."
He added that the transport manufacturers in the country are quality-centric rather than cost-centric. He expressed confidence that the car manufacturers will make good vehicles and offer them at a competitive price.
The Union Minister reiterated his commitment to reducing logistics costs, adding that the cost would be in the single digits, making India competitive with the world. The country's logistics cost is currently around 14-16 per cent. The Union Minister also revealed that he has set a target to build a 60-kilometer road network every day.
Vehicle Scrapping Policy may reduce auto component prices by 30 pc: Gadkari
Nitin Gadkari said the Vehicle Scrapping Policy is expected to reduce the prices of auto components by 30 per cent, which may reduce the rate of vehicles to benefiting consumers. The demand for EVs will grow as the government is taking various steps to improve the charging infrastructure in cities and on highways, he noted.
The adoption of EVs will also increase as the prices of input materials come down, Gadkari said. "We brought scrapping policy, because of which prices of the auto component will be reduced by 30 per cent," the minister said.
Prices of auto components have a direct bearing on vehicle prices. Gadkari said prices of lithium-ion batteries have also come down in India. He said many big companies like Adani Group and Tata are going to produce lithium-ion batteries on a large scale in India.
The lithium-ion battery is a key component of electric vehicles. He also said that large lithium reserves, which have been discovered in Jammu and Kashmir, are 6 per cent of the world's total lithium reserves, sufficient to manufacture crores and crores of lithium-ion batteries.
On the Indian automobile industry, he said it is growing at a healthy pace. The industry has become the third-largest in the world, pushing Japan behind.
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