Nitin Gadkari reiterates need to develop greener fuels. Details here

Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari said that the transport sector contributes 40 per cent of the total air pollution in India. The minister also reiterated the need for the development of greener fuel alternatives to reduce the problem, PTI has reported. This is not the first time Gadkari has advocated for the need for alternative greener fuel development. He has been emphasising on the same for the last couple of years.

Nitin Gadkari said that in the transport sector, there is a need for alternate fuels. He also emphasised on the need for the development of greener fuels like green hydrogen. The minister added that the cost of green hydrogen needs to come down to ₹83 per kg from the current cost of ₹300 per kg.

Gadkari also said that solutions can also be found beyond the tested route of electrolysers and pointed out to the research done by IISC Bengaluru, where the institute has successes to achieve a cost per kg of ₹150 using biomass. "We (transport) are responsible for 40 per cent of air pollution in the country...as the transport minister, actually I am responsible for that," Gadkari said, citing the case of New Delhi, which is grappling with air pollution woes. "In the transport sector, there is a need for alternate fuels," the minister added.

The minister further stated that the proven technology, economic viability, marketability of the finished product and import substitution are important strategies the country needs to follow to achieve the target of developing greener fuel alternatives. He stressed on the importance of bio-fuels as a viable greener fuel alternative. Gadkari has stated that there are 135 projects on alternative fuel development going across India.

The minister believes that there would be high demand for cars going forward as well. Considering that, the industry needs to focus on developing alternative greener fuel options, said Gadkari. Besides that, the minister further added that he aims to make India the biggest auto manufacturer in the world in three years with a ₹15 lakh crore industry. The fact to note here is that India has already overtaken Japan to be the third-largest auto manufacturer in the world.