“We are making the World Standard Road infrastructure in the country and promising you that before the end of 24, our road infrastructure will be equal to the standard of the USA, American standards,” he said.

Gadkari also spoke about the current high cost of logistics incurred by businesses, promising that the same would be reduced to 8% from 16% currently.

“Our logistics cost is a big problem. Presently, it comes to 16 per cent, but I am promising you that up to the end of 24, we will take it to the single digit, up to 9 per cent”, he added.

The senior Modi cabinet minister added that his ministry was also working to reduce the cost of construction by minimising the use of steel through use of substitutes.

“We know that the construction industry not only contributes significantly to environmental pollution but also conserves 40 per cent of Global materials and resources. We focus on reducing the cost of resources and improving the quality of construction. As we are aware that cement and steel are the major components for construction, so we are trying to minimize the use of steel in construction work by trying to adopt substitutes”, Gadkari added.

Speaking about the use of green hydrogen, he said, India is an an “excellent” position and can emerge as a major exporter of the resource in the near future.

“In near future, green hydrogen will be a source of energy in the aviation, railway, road transport, chemical and fertilizer industries. India’s potential to become a global manufacturing hub and exporter of green hydrogen in near future. Sustainability is also increasingly recognized as an important part of the construction industry”, he added.

He also stressed on increasing the use of electric vehicles, and his desire to scale up the automobile industry in India from Rs 7.5 lakh crore currently to Rs 16 lakh crore.