Gandhinagar: Asserting that hydrogen is the future of the transportation industry, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said the government is conducting trials on 10 routes across the country on its use as fuel.
The trials are under way on Greater Noida-Delhi-Agra, Bhubaneshwar-Konark-Puri, Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Surat, Sahibabad-Faridabad-Delhi, Pune-Mumbai, Jamshedpur-Kalinga Nagar, Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi, Kochi-Edappally, Jamnagar-Ahmedabad and NH-16 Visakhapatnam-Bayyavaram routes, the minister said.
Gadkari was addressing a gathering at Prawaas 5.0 and Bharat Prawaas Awards event here.
“Our ministry is doing a pilot project on ten routes for hydrogen trials. I am sure the future of the transportation industry is hydrogen, and hydrogen is the fuel in the future, and we are working on that,” he said.
The industry is working very well in the area of alternative fuel and biofuel, and India will lead globally with its technology and cost, Gadkari said.
“The initiatives taken by the automobile industry in developing buses are very important, and manufacturers and transporters should think about having good, comfortable transport from the technology point of view with world-standard technology. The duty of our manufacturers is to give more comfort with reasonable economic value,” he said.
Safe transport is another important thing, Gadkari said while pointing out that the country witnesses 5 lakh accidents and 1.80 lakh deaths every year, with 66% of those dying belonging to 18-36 age group.
“It (accidents) also causes 3% GDP loss. So we need your help in preventing these accidents. Therefore, road safety is the highest priority for the government…,” Gadkari said.
“Our industry is doing an excellent job from the safety and technology point of view. And that is the reason that our two-wheeler manufacturers in India are able to sell 50 per cent of products abroad,” he said.
Gadkari said that from Rs 14 lakh crore and seventh rank globally when he took over, the automobile industry of the country is today third in the world with the size growing to Rs 22 lakh crore.
“Our ambition is to reach the first spot soon. This industry gives the highest revenue to the state and central governments, and has created 4.5 crore jobs. We have naturally made many improvements in automobile engineering, and the industry has cooperated with us,” Gadkari said.
He also urged the industry to meet the target of the number of buses needed to be manufactured annually in the country.
‘No vehicle damage from ethanol’
Union minister Gadkari addressed the ongoing controversy surrounding ethanol-blended fuel and allegations that it damages vehicles, stating that there is no evidence to support claims that ethanol is causing widespread vehicle failures.
He asserted that no major automaker has reported verified complaints related to ethanol-blended fuel and described the allegations as misleading.
Gadkari also said that ethanol helps reduce India’s fuel import bill, strengthens energy security and creates additional income opportunities for farmers.
