India needs to focus on alternative fuel, new technology to reduce air pollution: Minister Nitin Gadkari

New Delhi: India needs to focus on alternative and bio-fuels, along with new technology and innovation, to reduce air pollution, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday.

Addressing 'ICVA Green Returns Summit 2025', Gadkari further said that in any country or society, three important sectors are ethics, economy, ecology and environment.

"Ecology and environment are very important...I do not need to explain about the air pollution...you are already experiencing the problem (air pollution), we are facing in Delhi," he said.

The road transport and highways minister said 40 per cent of air pollution is due to transport fuel, and it is a big problem for the country, particularly Delhi.

India is spending Rs 22 lakh crore for importing fossil fuels, and because of the import of fossil fuels, "we are facing the problem of pollution", he noted.

"So, we need to focus on alternative fuel and biofuel to reduce pollution," he said.

According to the morning air quality bulletin issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the air quality index (AQI) in the national capital remained in the 'very poor' category on Tuesday at 360, after recording 382 on Monday.

"India can also reduce pollution by developing new technology and new innovations," he added.

Gadkari said that logistics cost in India will come down to a single digit by December this year, helped by the rapid expansion of expressways and economic corridors.

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.

"India's logistics cost will come down to 9 per cent by December, which will help India become more competitive," the minister said.

Logistics cost is 12 per cent in the US and European countries, and 8-10 per cent in China.

Talking about India's automobile sector, the minister said, "Within five years, our target is to make India's automobile industry the number 1 in the world".

"When I took charge as the transport minister, the size of the Indian automobile industry was Rs 14 lakh crore. The size of the Indian automobile industry now is Rs 22 lakh crore," Gadkari added.

Presently, the size of the US automobile industry is Rs 78 lakh crore, followed by China (Rs 47 lakh crore) and India (Rs 22 lakh crore).

The minister said there is a need to focus on agriculture to boost India's GDP growth.

He pointed out that farmers have earned an additional Rs 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 Rs 1,200 per quintal, which increased to Rs 2,800 per quintal after the government allowed production of bio-ethanol from the crop.

"We have given an additional Rs 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," the minister said.