India's talent pool of young engineers is among the largest in the world and will help the country become the third largest economy in the world, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari told Moneycontrol in an exclusive interview.
"We have got the highest young talented engineering manpower in the world. That is a great thing for India. At the same time, we have good infrastructure, water, our transparent communication, and international standards by which we are the fastest growing major economy in the world," Gadkari said.
The minister added that the Indian automobile industry is among the fastest-growing markets in the world and the country aims to become the world’s largest automobile manufacturing hub.
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Gadkari added that in the past nine years, the automobile industry has grown from a Rs 4.5 lakh crore market to a Rs 12.5 lakh crore market.
He said that the Indian automobile industry has reported 10-15 percent growth in the last year and going forward is expected to grow in double digits.
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Gadkari also said that the government's scrappage policy will not only help in reducing pollution in the country but will also boost demand.
"The scrapping policy is the biggest way to get rid of old polluting cars and it will not only help reduce air pollution but will also likely increase automotive sales by 18 percent," Gadkari said.
India introduced a scrappage policy for old and unsafe vehicles in 2021. Under the policy, the government had proposed to scrap and de-register private diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years.
In April 2023, the government further announced that government vehicles and buses older than 15 years would be scrapped. As part of the vehicle scrapping strategy, the government has provided a Rs 2,000-crore incentive to state governments.
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Gadkari added that he expects demand for electric vehicles to grow in coming years and their sales to increase fourfold. Demand for electric vehicles will rise as their production costs fall, he said.
Total EV retail sales between January and August 2023 stood at 965,868 units 65 percent higher compared to the same period last year.
"When we started manufacturing EVs, the cost of manufacturing a lithium-ion battery was around $130 per kilowatt hour, which has fallen to around $115 per kilowatt hour currently, and in due course of time, the cost will fall below $100 per kilowatt hour," Gadkari said.
The minister pointed out that Jammu and Kashmir holds an estimated 5.9 million tonnes of lithium ore that can be used to make cheaper batteries for EVs.
He added that while the initial cost of owning an electric vehicle may be higher, the monthly savings easily help to recover these costs. "We spend around Rs 30,000 on petrol and diesel per month. This falls to around Rs 2,000 for electric vehicles," Gadkari pointed out.
The minister said the government is also looking to build electric highways across the country to make it easier to take EVs on long-distance trips.
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