Union Transport Minister aims for India's road infrastructure to match US in next 5 years
India aims to elevate its road infrastructure to match that of the US within the next five years, said Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari. As part of a comprehensive strategy, the government seeks to alleviate metro congestion, significantly reduce travel time, and minimise road accidents, he said.
In the preceding nine years, his ministry has allocated projects exceeding Rs 50 lakh crore and has streamlined the contract approval process by refining existing policies.
«No contractor needs to come to me for sanctioning the contract. We are transparent, time- bound, result-oriented and quality conscious and fast in decision-making. We consider the ministry, contractors and bankers as one family.
»We encourage good work, and that is why we have seven world records. This is the great achievement of the ministry," he said in an interview published in the Manorama Yearbook 2024. «I am confident that after five years, our road infrastructure will be equal to the US,» he said.
The minister stressed that futuristic development of infrastructure is the need of the country. India needs robust infrastructure for attracting capital investment from both domestic and foreign sources, which would remove poverty and generate employment. Dwelling on the country's automobile sector, he said India's automobile industry had recently surpassed Japan to become the third behind China and USA.
«Our industry is worth Rs 7.5 lakh crore and the maximum GST to the states and central government is generated from this sector. Till now, 4.5 crore jobs have been created by this industry. My dream is to double the size of our automobile industry to Rs 15 lakh crore in the next five years.
Read more on economictimes.indiatimes.com
