India's logistics cost will come down to single-digit in two years: Minister Nitin Gadkari

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said India's logistics cost will come down to single-digit within the next two years. Addressing an event organised by NITI Aayog, he said the ministry is constructing several highways and expressways, which will help reduce India's logistics cost. "Within two years, we are going to reduce our logistics cost to 9 per cent," Gadkari added.

According to quick estimates of the economic think tank National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), logistics costs in India ranged between 7.8 per cent to 8.9 per cent of GDP for the fiscal 2021-22. Gadkari said there is huge potential for India to export alternative fuels and biofuels. He also pointed out that low-quality coal is useful for making methanol.

The minister added that India is making significant strides in the biofuel sector, especially in methanol. Further, Gadkari said he aimed to make the Indian automobile industry number one in the world. Last year, India had overtaken Japan to become the third-largest automobile market in the world, only behind the US and China, he said.

The size of India's automobile industry rose from Rs 7.5 lakh crore in 2014 to Rs 18 lakh crore in 2024 and this industry is creating a maximum number of jobs, Gadkari added. Gadkari highlighted that materials like recycled tyre powder and plastic are being utilised in road construction, which helps in the reduction of bitumen import.

He also emphasised how the initiative of using crop waste is helping to increase the incomes of farmers across the country. Gadkari spoke about the stubble-burning problem in Punjab and Haryana. He said that right now, "we can process one-fifth of the Parali, but with better planning, we can reduce the seasonal air pollution from stubble-burning by using parali as raw material for alternative fuels."

The minister said that India needs to move ahead with a policy which is cost-effective, indigenous, import substitute and employment-generating to address the major issues of rising pollution and fossil fuel imports.