The country’s logistics costs, which at present is 16 per cent of India’s GDP, will reduce to 9 per cent by the end of 2024 aided by India’s growing infrastructure, Road and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Friday.
Addressing FICCI’s annual convention, Gadkari assured that logistics costs will fall to single digits, up to 9 per cent of GDP by the end of 2024, which will not only boost business prospects domestically, but also help the country attract more exports.
Now is the time to increase India’s business and presence in the international markets, he encouraged the industry.
India is on the path to building an inclusive Bharat following the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by boosting investment, economic growth and employment creation to achieve sustainable development. However, the government also needs to have cooperation, coordination and communication between all the stakeholders, he added.
Gadkari informed that the funds released or expenditure incurred by MoRTH has increased from ₹32,702 crore in FY15 to ₹2,09,312 crore in FY22.
Road Ministry raised ₹14,268 cr so far in FY23 by monetising national highways: Nitin Gadkari
Speaking on the automobile sector, the Minister said: “We should be the leaders in this sector,” adding that the government aims to double the automobile sector to ₹15-lakh crore. This will create new jobs and make India one of the biggest automobile manufacturers in the world.
Road infrastructure
The Minister stated that before the end of 2024, India’s road infrastructure would be equal to the American standard.
Underscoring the importance of sustainability in the construction sector, Gadkari noted, “We are trying to minimise the use of cement and steel in construction work by adopting substitutes like fly ash, oil slag, waste plastics, demolition waste.”
“We are also working on developing alternative, clean and green fuel like bio ethanol, bio-CNG, bio-LNG and green hydrogen,” he added.
FICCI President Sanjiv Mehta said: “Infrastructure construction alone has the potential to contribute 25 per cent of incremental growth in non-farm jobs by 2030.”
FICCI’s President-elect Subhrakant Panda underlined several policies that will catalyse the national economy by driving growth in allied sectors such as housing, steel and cement. These include PM GatiShakti for integrated infrastructure development worth ₹7.5-lakh crore in FY23, construction of 65,000 km of national highways and national infrastructure pipeline.
