New Delhi, May 21: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, emphasized the need for Indian companies to engage in joint ventures with American firms to access cutting-edge technologies. Speaking at the American Chamber of Commerce’s annual leadership summit, Gadkari stated, “India is the fastest-growing major economy in the world, while American companies are developing new technologies. Therefore, it is crucial for Indian firms to collaborate with U.S. companies.”
He also mentioned that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is considering consulting American companies for preparing detailed project reports (DPR) for highway projects.
Gadkari highlighted that logistics is a vital component of supply chains, and due to the rapid expansion of expressways and economic corridors, logistics costs in India have now reached single digits. According to recent studies by IIT Chennai, IIT Kanpur, and IIM Bengaluru, the construction of expressways and economic corridors has reduced India’s logistics costs from 16% to 10%.
He compared this with logistics costs in the U.S. and European countries, which stand at 12%, while China’s costs range between 8% and 10%.
The minister also announced the government’s goal to make India’s automobile industry the number one globally within the next five years. “When I took over as transport minister, the size of the Indian automobile industry was ₹14 lakh crore. It has now grown to ₹22 lakh crore,” he noted.
Gadkari pointed out that the automobile sector employs nearly 4 lakh youth and is a significant source of GST revenue for both central and state governments. Currently, the U.S. automobile industry is valued at ₹78 lakh crore, while China’s industry is worth ₹47 lakh crore.
He expressed concerns over India’s dependence on fossil fuels, which has become an economic burden, costing ₹22 lakh crore annually on fuel imports. This reliance also poses environmental risks, making the adoption of clean energy essential for the country’s development.
To reduce vehicle emissions, the government has identified ten highway corridors across the country for operating trucks powered by green hydrogen. These routes include Greater Noida-Delhi-Agra, Bhubaneswar-Puri-Konark, Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Surat, Sahibabad-Faridabad-Delhi, Jamshedpur-Kalinganagar, Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi, and Jamnagar-Ahmedabad highways.
Notably, the American Chamber of Commerce comprises over 400 American companies, along with individual and honorary members. The current U.S. ambassador serves as the honorary president of this organization.
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