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Union road, transport and highway minister Nitin Gadkari has said that if India can use recently discovered reserve of lithium in Jammu and Kashmir, it will become number one automobile manufacturing country in the world.  He said ‘Every year, we import 1,200 tonnes of lithium.’

He mentioned ‘Now, in Jammu and Kashmir, we got lithium. (If) we can use this lithium ion, we will be the number one automobile manufacturing country in the world.’ The estimated 5.9-million tonne reserve of lithium, a crucial mineral for the manufacturing of electric vehicles and solar panels, had been discovered in Reasi district by the Geological Survey of India (GSI).

He said there is a need to encourage public transport, and electric buses are the future. India has beaten Japan to become the third largest vehicle market in 2022 after China and the USA. According to Gadkari, presently India's automobile industry is worth Rs 7.5 lakh crore, and the sector's contribution to the overall GST revenue is maximum.