Union Minister Nitin Gadkari stated on Thursday that the goal of the government is to elevate India to the top spot in the world for auto production and grow the auto industry to a value of Rs 25 lakh crore.
Addressing a seminar at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gandhinagar, the minister asked auto manufacturers to invest in clean technologies, especially in electric vehicles, otherwise, they will ‘miss the bus’. We are now the third-largest automotive manufacturing nation, surpassing even Japan. We want to hit 25,000 lakh crore and top the global manufacturing hub rankings,’ he declared.
“As a transport minister, we are responsible for 40% of air pollution,” the minister of road transport and highways stated in reference to the air pollution that major cities face. 85 percent of fossils are imported by us. In our nation, transportation accounts for 40% of CO2 emissions. We must identify a locally produced, affordable, pollution-free, import-substitute solution.
Gadkari emphasized that the expensive nature of lithium batteries is one of their main drawbacks. He said , “Jammu & Kashmir is home to 6% of the world’s lithium reserves. I recently requested that (officials) mine it as soon as possible because we import 1,200 tonnes of lithium-ion. We can take control of the global EV market if we succeed in completing this.”