Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers organised its 64th annual session in New Delhi. At the event, the Union Minister for Road Transportation and Highways shared his vision of the country's potential to take the top spot in hydrogen production, globally. The automotive industry contributes 6.8 per cent to the country's total GDP and nearly 40 per cent to the manufacturing sector, Gadkari revealed. Furthermore, he discussed the commitment to achieving carbon neutrality and bringing down carbon emissions by 2070 and 2030, respectively.
Furthermore, Nitin Gadkari is ambitious about the production of hydrogen in the country to bring the cost of production down to just USD 1 per kg. He added, that the technology to localize the production of hydrogen is required to bring India to the top spot for both production of the fuel and electrolyzers.
Currently, the production cost stands at nearly Rs 300 per kg. He further talked about the proposal of putting to use the waste segregation exercise to generate biohydrogen. Gadkari added, "The segregation of waste materials like plastic, metal, and glass, away from organic waste, biodigesters could help in the production of hydrogen for commercial use."
India is currently the third largest market globally for passenger vehicles. Thus, road safety remains a strong aspect of the business. On that note, he announced the plan to invest Rs 450 crore in new technologies for a crash testing facility that should be in its operating condition in the next 3 months.