Nitin Gadkari

Addressing an event organised by industry body CII, Gadkari further said change in social behaviour is very important along with focusing on strengthening '4Es' of road safety — Engineering (road & vehicle engineering), Enforcement, Education and Emergency medical service.

India will one day become an exporter of energy and there was a need to develop agriculture for this to happen, Gadkari said

Gadkari said the government has also permitted retrofitting of existing polluting vehicles into hybrid and fully EVs.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) are primarily responsible for the construction of national highways and expressways across the country.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said state/UT-wise details of the accidents/fatalities at these black spots based on the data for 2018-2020 received from states.

Launching 'DigiELV', Gadkari said the road ministry has so far approved 85 vehicle scrapping facilities across the country.

The National Highway network has grown from approximately 91,287 km in March 2014 to about 1,46,145 km at present.

The issue of ill effect of lithium-ion battery waste dumping and on workers in manufacturing units of this storage system was raised by Congress member Ranjeet Ranjan during the question hour in the Rajya Sabha.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways was earlier planning to spend over 90% of its Rs 2.59 lakh cr capex allocation for financial year 2023-24 by December 2023. However, heavy rains, delays in land allocation and elections in five states have led to a dramatic slowdown in project-awarding.

When compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, road accidents in India increased by 2.75 percent, fatalities rose by 11.5 percent and injuries on account of road accidents fell by 1.8 percent in 2022.

Addressing the third edition of the Global Maritime India Summit in Mumbai via videoconference, Gadkari said India should start exploring the use of ethanol as fuel for inland waterways

He was addressing the second convocation ceremony of the Mahatma Gandhi Mission University in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Gadkari, while addressing the ministerial session focusing on road safety at the 27th World Road Congress in Prague, Czech Republic, emphasized on adopting a holistic approach to minimise road crashes and fatalities by stakeholders at all levels.

Without specifying a timeline, the Road Transport and Highways Minister said the proposal would be submitted to the finance ministry for approval

Road, Transport and Highways Secretary Anurag Jain urged the auto industry to set up scrap centres and automated testing stations across the country.

Road tax and registration fees aren't just bureaucratic formalities; they're pivotal factors influencing the rise or fall of EVs, SMEV Chief Evangelist Sanjay Kaul said.

A miniscule percentage of the country's people can afford houses with price tags of Rs 1 crore or more and the country's masses should be at the centre of approach to housing construction, a release quoted Gadkari as saying.

The minister pointed out that India is the fastest growing major economy in the world and auto dealers will play an important role in making India a USD 5 trillion economy.

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.

The ministry is focussing on building wayside amenities for highway travellers, including dormitories, clean toilets and trauma centres.