Government meets target to reduce logistics cost to 9% of GDP: Nitin Gadkari
Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari has said that the government has met the target to reduce logistics cost to 9 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from as high as 16 per cent due to good roads. He said there is a need to switch to alternative fuel, biofuel, and particularly hydrogen as part of logistics and expressed confidence that India will become an exporter of energy within 10 years. He noted that the cost of logistics in China is 8 per cent of GDP, 12 per cent in Europe and the US but in India it was as high as 16 per cent.
He said besides good roads, the government is also taking preventive measures in the fuel space as well. He said ‘We have the import of fossil fuel of Rs 22 lakh crore and because of that, we are facing a lot of pollution problems. People in Delhi are already facing a crucial problem because of fossil fuel pollution. 40 per cent of the air pollution is because of the transport sector, where I am the minister for that. We have taken the decision to change the fuel.’ He said now there are electric vehicles but still biofuel is top priority for the government even in alternative fuels.
The minister said ‘I remember at a time when I launched the first electric vehicle, the cost of the lithium ion battery was $150 per kilowatt per hour. Today it comes to $55-60 per kilowatt per hour’. He also said ‘presently, we are the importer of energy. But as a transport minister, I'm confident that in due course of time, within 10 years, we will be the exporter of energy.’
