The current disastrous unfolding of air pollution crisis in New Delhi can only be resolved by switching to alternate fuel that is non-fossil fuel-based, said Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari.
Speaking at the ICVA Green Returns Summit 2025 held in New Delhi on Tuesday, the Union minister said ethics, economy, ecology and environment are significant to all economies, and must be addressed adequately.
“Ecology and environment are very important...I do not need to explain about the air pollution...you are already experiencing the problem (air pollution) in Delhi,” he said.
The source of at least 40 per cent air pollution in the capital city is the burning of transport fuel, Gadkari said, adding that there’s an urgent need to switch to renewable energy sources, such as biofuel and other alternate fuels.
“India is spending ₹22 lakh crore to import fossil fuels, because of which we are faced with the problem of pollution. So, we need to focus on alternative fuel and biofuel to combat it,” he said.
As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air quality index (AQI) in New Delhi remained in the ‘very poor’ category on Tuesday at 360, after recording 382 on Monday.
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“India can also reduce pollution by developing new technology and new innovations,” Gadkari said.
Simultaneously, the country’s automobile sector has grown exponentially, he said.
“When I took charge as the transport minister, the size of the Indian automobile industry was ₹14 lakh crore. Its size now is ₹22 lakh crore,” Gadkari added.
With plans to make India’s automobile industry the number 1 in the world within five years, he said in comparison, the size of the US automobile industry is ₹78 lakh crore, followed by China (₹47 lakh crore) and India (₹22 lakh crore).
The need of the hour, however, is boosting the country’s agriculture to increase its GDP, Gadkari noted.
Farmers, said the minister, have earned an additional income of ₹45,000 crore by producing ethanol from corn after the government permitted the production of bio-ethanol from the crop.
“Earlier, the price of corn was ₹1,200 per quintal, which increased to ₹2,800 per quintal after the government allowed production of bio-ethanol from the crop. We have given an additional ₹45,000 crore to farmers of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and the reason is that the corn plantation has increased three times in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. That is going to increase the growth in these states,” he said.
The logistics cost, too, said Gadkari, will be down to a single digit by December this year, asserted the roadways minister.
“India’s logistics cost will come down to 9 per cent by December, which will help India become more competitive. This has happened because of the rapid expansion of expressways and economic corridors,” he said.
In the US and European countries, logistics cost is 12 per cent, and 8-10 per cent in China, he informed.
A recent report prepared by IIT Chennai, IIT Kanpur and IIM Bangalore has revealed that India’s construction of expressways and economic corridors has helped reduce the country’s logistics cost to 10 per cent from 16 per cent earlier.
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