New Delhi, April 8 Logistics costs in India have fallen to single digits, thanks to the rapid expansion of expressways and economic corridors, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday.
Addressing the BME Conclave 2026, Gadkari said that 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 from 16 per cent to 10 per cent.
"That report came 4-5 months ago. Now, I can confidently say that India's logistics cost has come down to 9 per cent...now, India's export market will be more competitive," he said.
The Minister of Road Transport and Highways said that logistics costs are 12 per cent in the US, 12 per cent in European countries, and 8 to 10 per cent in China.
Speaking about India's automobile sector, he said, "Our target is to make India's automobile industry the number 1 in the world."
"When I took office 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.
He said that the automobile sector provides employment to 4 lakh youths and generates the highest GST revenue for the Centre and states.
Currently, 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 that there is a need to encourage biofuel and alternative energy, citing the West Asian crisis, which created fuel shortages for many Asian countries.
"From an economic point of view, and from a pollution point of view, it is the right time for the world, and it is the right time for India to encourage biofuel and alternative fuel," he added.
Noting that green hydrogen is the fuel of the future, Gadkari said that the government has identified 10 highway stretches in different parts of the country for plying green hydrogen-powered trucks to reduce vehicular pollution.
He said that these stretches will have hydrogen filling stations, set up by Indian Oil and Reliance Petroleum.
The minister said that the metal industry is important for the development of the country, and waste metal materials can also be used in road construction.