Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will be the guest on Wednesday for The Hindu MIND, a conversation series featuring leading newsmakers.
Popularly known as the ‘Expressway Man of India’, Mr. Gadkari is a strong advocate of biofuels and non-conventional energy sources to enhance India’s energy security. His appearance comes amid the government’s aggressive push for ethanol-blended petrol and electric vehicles.
The Minister is expected to address issues such as the toll tax hikes on national highways, which have raised concerns among commuters.
A firm believer in safer road travel, Mr. Gadkari has set an ambitious target to reduce road accidents by 50% by 2030.
His Ministry recently rolled out the Bharat New Car Safety Assessment Programme to evaluate vehicle crash safety. Mr. Gadkari has also been a vocal critic of poor road engineering, substandard project reports, and negligent concessionaires, factors he says contribute significantly to India’s road fatalities.
