The Minister of Road Transport and Highways and MSMEs, Nitin Gadkari has expressed need that Indian industry should help India in cutting imports and becoming more export-oriented, by using the best technologies of the world. He also added that the industries are importing goods which can be produced in the country itself.
Underlining the facts of exports, the Minister said that Indian exports contribute only 2.6% to the global trade, as compared to China, which leads with a share of 17%. He said that the problems on the trade front that China is currently facing are a ‘blessing in disguise’ for India, which can increase the share of its exports in world trade to 8-10%. He added that this is important for the realization of the goal of a $5 trillion economy.
While talking about the Road Transport and Highways sector, Gadkari mentioned that his ministry has saved approximately Rs 16,000 crore in land acquisition cost by taking a different alignment by acquiring land in tribal and rural areas of Rajasthan, thus substantially decreasing the project cost at large. The alignment has also resulted in a reduction of 120 Km of the route, thereby reducing logistics cost on the Delhi-Mumbai corridor.