Addressing the Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce and Womennovator on trade investment and collaborations in road infrastructure and MSMEs, the Minister said that the automotive industry and MSMEs are the two growth engines of Indian economy
Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Nitin Gadkari has called for enhanced investment by international institutions and bodies in the Indian highways and MSME sectors. Addressing the Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce and Womennovator on trade investment and collaborations in road infrastructure and MSMEs, he said that the automotive industry and MSMEs are the two growth engines of Indian economy. “India and Australia are already cooperating in the road safety sector. This cooperation has provided better designs for roads and awareness opportunities for the public,” he added.
Under the Indian Road Safety Assessment Programme, 21,000 km roads have been assessed and about 3,000 km road length is under technological upgradation. According to Gadkari, better road engineering and increased public awareness has brought about improvement. It is estimated, he added, that these upgradation programmes will bring about 50 per cent reduction in road accidents. “Our objective is to achieve zero road fatalities by 2030,” he said. While the concerned ministry has taken a lot of initiatives to reduce road accidents, World Bank and ADB have committed Rs. 7,000 crores each for this campaign, he informed.
Gadkari further said that through social awareness and education, improvement in emergency services, pressing for medical insurance and providing more hospitals, etc., the country is inching closer to achieving its road safety targets. He referred to the Motor Vehicles Act of 2019, which is a comprehensive legislation on all aspects of the transport sector in India. The minister said the government is concentrating on village, agricultural and tribal sectors for providing employment opportunities in rural areas. He emphasized that it is the MSME sector which will drive the Indian economy in the coming years.
He further informed that investment in infrastructure and insurance sectors has been opened up as there are huge opportunities in insurance, pension and share economies. “The MSME sector is also going to the capital market soon,” he added.
Addressing the audience, Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack also elaborated on the various initiatives of his country in the road sector, especially in the area of road safety. He said that India and Australia have very strong relations now which had not been the case earlier. He expressed confidence that the ties between two countries will grow further in different fields, including trade and commerce. He stressed on the need for building infrastructure and added that this was one way of overcoming the current pandemic.