According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, India has seen a sharp increase in highway development to 1.47 lakh km up sharply from 91,000 km in 2014.

New Delhi Mar 22 PTI Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said rapid strides in technology and green fuel will reduce the cost of electric automobiles bringing them at par with petrol-run vehicles in the next two yearsReplying in the Lok Sabha on the Demands for Grants for Road Transport and Highways Ministry 2022-23 Gadkari emphasised the need to shift to cost-effective indigenous fuel and hoped that this fuel will be a reality soon bringing the pollution levels down and improving the overall situation in DelhiUrging MPs to adopt hydrogen technologies for transport Gadkari asked them to take initiative in their respective districts for converting sewage water to produce green hydrogenHydrogen will soon be the cheapest fuel alternative he saidI can say within maximum two years the cost of electric scooter car autoricksahw will be same as petrol-driven scooter car autorickshaw Prices of lithium-ion battery are coming down We are developing this chemistry of zinc-ion aluminium-ion sodium-ion batteries If petrol you are spending Rs 100 then on electric vehicle you will spend Rs 10 for using Gadkari said PTI JD BAL BAL

New Delhi Feb 27 PTI The compensation to the kin of hit-and-run victims will be increased sharply by eight-fold to Rs 2 lakh in case of death from April 1 according to a notification by the Road Transport and Highways Ministry The solatium to a person sustaining grievous injuries in a hit-and-run case will increase to Rs 50000 from the current Rs 12500 The ministry in the notification issued on February 25 said that the scheme may be called the Compensation to Victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents Scheme 2022 and it shall come into force with effect from April 1 2022 A release by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Sunday stated that it has notified the scheme for compensation of victims of Hit Run motor accidents vide notification dated 25th February 2022 to cater to enhanced compensation from Rs 12500 to Rs 50000 for grievous hurt and from Rs 25000 to Rs 200000 for death This scheme will supersede the earlier Solatium Scheme 1989 from April 1 2022 onwards the Road Transport and Highways Ministry said in a release The process of application for compensation and the release of payment to victims has also been made time bound the release stated The ministry has also published rules on February 25 regarding creation operation sources of fund etc of the Motor Vehicles Accident Fund This fund shall be used for providing compensation in case of Hit Run Accident treatment for accident victims and any other purpose as may be specified by the Central Government the release stated Under the scheme the ministry has come up with the procedure for detailed investigations of road accidents Detailed Accident Report DAR and its reporting along with timelines for different stakeholders for quick settlements of claims Last year Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told Rajya Sabha that 536 persons were killed and 1655 persons were injured in accidents categorised as hit and run in the national capital in 2019 According to the latest government data a total of 366138 road accidents occurred in India during 2020 causing 131714 deaths PTI BKS MR MR

New Delhi Sep 19 PTI With Afghanistan coming under the control of the Taliban Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said a final decision on continuing infrastructure investments in the war-torn country will be taken by the prime minister along with the external affairs minister after considering the prevailing situation Gadkari who is helming the Road Transport and Highways Ministry also said that while many infrastructure projects in that country have been completed by India some are yet to be completed Last month the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan ousting the previous elected leadership which was backed by the West We have built a dam Salma dam we have worked in areas of water resources in Afghanistan Gadkari said while responding to a query on whether India will make further investments in the now Taliban-controlled country Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will take a decision on whether India will now invest in infrastructure projects in Afghanistan or not Gadkari said As a friendly country we had discussions with Afghanistan government officials for building some roads also good that I did not start construction of roads in Afghanistan the situation there is of concern he told PTI in an interview India has invested around USD 3 billion in different welfare and infrastructure projects in Afghanistan On Friday Modi said the global community should decide collectively and thoughtfully on recognising the new setup in Afghanistan in view of questions over its acceptability as the change of power was not inclusive PTI BKS RAM MKJ MKJ