AMN / WEB DESK
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that India was moving forward with the vision to make the country ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047. He said to achieve this goal, the mobility sector is going to play a crucial role.
The Prime Minister was addressing Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2024 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Friday. The Prime Minister said that India is on the move and is moving fast and highlighted that the present era is the beginning of the golden period for the mobility sector. Mr Modi urged the automotive industry to make full use of the opportunities in the sector to achieve the goal. He said India’s economy is expanding fast and will soon become the third biggest economy in the world. The Prime Minister said Bharat Mobility Global Expo brilliantly showcases India’s prowess in the automotive sector. He said, this event has brought together the mobility community and the entire supply chain on one platform. He also noted that car sales have broken all records recently. He added that his government’s speed and scale has changed the definition of mobility in the country. He said integrated transport is being given a boost under the PM Gati Shakti programme. Mr Modi outlined the initiatives taken by his government to give further boost to this sector and bring in Ease of Transformation.
Drawing attention towards the humane aspect of drivers in the mobility industry, Prime Minister Modi said that the Central Government is working on a new scheme to provide comfort to the drivers during the journey under which modern buildings with new facilities like food and clean drinking water and toilets will be constructed on all national highways. He said that government will build one thousand such modern buildings across the country in the first phase of this scheme. Mr Modi said that it will give a boost to both the ease of living and ease of traveling for truck and taxi drivers, thereby improving their health and also help in preventing accidents.
The Prime Minister stressed that the expanding spheres and growing income of the middle class of the country will give strength to the mobility sector of India. He said, the numbers of growing economy and the growing income are bound to infuse new confidence in the mobility sector. He pointed out that the number of cars sold in India rose from 12 crores before 2014 to more than 21 crores in last the 10 years, while the number of electric cars sold in India rose from 2 thousand per year 10 years ago to 12 lakh per year today. He further added that in the last 10 years, the number of passenger vehicles saw an increase of 60 percent while two-wheelers increased by 70 percent.
Highlighting the immense possibilities in the mobility sector in the next 25 years, Mr Modi urged the industry to transform itself rapidly to fully utilize these possibilities. Addressing the need for technical workforce and trained drivers in the mobility sector, the Prime Minister mentioned that more than 15 thousand ITIs in the country are providing manpower to this industry today. He also urged the industry leaders to collaborate with ITIs to make the courses more relevant according to the needs of the industry. He also touched upon the scrappage policy by the government where exemption in road tax is provided on new vehicles in exchange for scrapping of old vehicles.
The Prime Minister said that today’s India is making new policies keeping in mind the needs of the future. Referring to the Union Budget that was presented yesterday, PM Modi informed that in 2014 India’s capital expenditure was less than 2 lakh crore rupees and has risen to more than 11 lakh crore rupees today.
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has transformed the Indian economy in the last ten years to make it a strong economy.
On the occasion, Union Minister of Heavy Industries Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, MSME Minister Narayan Rane and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri were also present.
The three day event is being held from 1st to 3rd of February, 2024.
The Expo 2024 is showcasing India’s capabilities across the entire mobility and automotive value chains. The Expo features exhibitions, conferences, buyer-seller meets, state sessions, road safety pavilion and also public-centric attractions like go-karting.
With over 800 exhibitors from more than 50 countries, the Expo highlights cutting-edge technologies, sustainable solutions and breakthroughs in mobility. The Expo features participation from over 28 vehicle manufacturers. About thousand brands from over 13 global markets are showcasing their complete range of products, technologies, and services at the event.
Along with the exhibition and conferences, Bharat Mobility Expo also features state sessions for states to showcase regional contributions and initiatives to enable collaboration, at both national and regional levels.