New Delhi: Union Minister of of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has reportedly said that driverless cars will not come to India in a bid to protect the jobs of drivers. According to a report by Business Today, Gadkari said, “I will never allow driverless cars to come into India because it will take away the jobs of several drivers and I will not let that happen”.
While addressing road safety concerns in the country during the Zero Mile Samvad hosted by IIM Nagpur, Gadkari outlined government measures to mitigate the accidents such as the incorporation of six airbags in cars, reducing black spots on roads, and increasing fines through the Electric Motors Act.
On Tesla Inc.’s entry into India, the minister said the government is ready to welcome the US automaker in India but manufacturing in China for sales in India is not acceptable.
Further, Gadkari shared his views on hydrogen fuel. He said that the government is committed to adopting advanced technologies to improve public infrastructure. Calling hydrogen a futuristic fuel, Nitin Gadkari told ZBuinsess Today, “We are working towards bringing the best technology to help in enhancing the public infrastructure”.
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Recently, during the ongoing Winter Session, Gadkari informed the Parliament that the capital expenditure on National Highways has increased from about ₹51,000 crore in 2013-14 to more than ₹2,40,000 crore in 2022-23. Gadkari said the budgetary allocation of the road ministry has increased from about ₹31,130 crore in 2013-14 to ₹2,70,435 crore in 2023-24 According to him, the ministry has completed various flagship projects, or its sections, which are already completed and opened to traffic to enable ease of movement.
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Some of these include the Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section (229 km) and the entire section in Madhya Pradesh (210 km) of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Amritsar-Bhatinda-Jamnagar (470 km) in Rajasthan, Suryapet-Khammam section of Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam, Indore-Hyderabad (175 km), new Brahamputra Bridge near Tejpur in Assam on NH-37A(old), Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project in Mizoram, Shillong Nongstoin-Tura section of NH-44E & NH 127B in Meghalaya.
