NEW DELHI — Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday urged Indian companies to form joint ventures with U.S. firms to gain access to advanced technologies.
Speaking at the annual leadership summit of the American Chamber of Commerce, Gadkari said India’s growth and the technological strength of U.S. companies create strong opportunities for collaboration.
“India is the fastest growing major economy while US companies develop lots of new technologies, so it is very important for Indian companies to have joint ventures with US companies,” Gadkari said.
The minister said the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is also considering consulting U.S. companies in the preparation of detailed project reports for highway projects.
Gadkari said supply chains are a critical part of logistics and that India’s logistics costs have declined because of the rapid expansion of expressways and economic corridors.
Citing a study by IIT Chennai, IIT Kanpur and IIM Bangalore, he said India’s logistics costs have fallen to 10% from 16%. He said logistics costs are about 12% in the U.S. and Europe, and 8% to 10% in China.
Gadkari also said the government wants to make India’s automobile industry the largest in the world within five years.
“When I took charge as Transport Minister, the size of the Indian automobile industry was Rs 14 lakh crore. It is now Rs 22 lakh crore,” he said.
He said the sector provides jobs to 4 lakh young people and generates the highest GST revenue for the central and state governments. The U.S. automobile industry is currently valued at Rs 78 lakh crore, followed by China at Rs 47 lakh crore, he said.
Gadkari said India’s dependence on fossil fuels remains a major economic burden, with annual fuel imports of Rs 22 lakh crore, while also contributing to environmental harm. He said clean energy adoption is critical to the country’s growth.
The minister said the government has identified 10 highway stretches for green hydrogen-powered trucks as part of efforts to reduce vehicle emissions. The routes include Greater Noida-Delhi-Agra, Bhubaneswar-Puri-Konark, Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Surat, Sahibabad-Faridabad-Delhi, Jamshedpur-Kalinganagar, Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi and Jamnagar-Ahmedabad.
AMCHAM represents more than 400 U.S. companies, along with individual and honorary members. The U.S. ambassador to India serves as the organization’s honorary president, while its elected national executive board includes country heads from major U.S. corporations. (Source: IANS)
