Nitin Gadkari, a Union minister, stated during a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event that if India uses the recently discovered lithium reserve in Jammu and Kashmir, it can overtake the United States as the world’s top producer of electric vehicles. Nitin Gadkari also emphasised the importance of promoting public transportation.
Lithium is a crucial component used in the creation of electric vehicle batteries. Jammu and Kashmir recently saw the discovery of a lithium reserve. The Geological Survey of India had found the estimated 5.9 million tonne lithium reserve, a vital mineral for the production of solar panels and electric vehicles, in the Reasi district (GSI).
“Every year, we import 1,200 tonnes of lithium. Now, in Jammu and Kashmir, we got lithium. (If) we can use this lithium ion, we will be the number one automobile manufacturing country in the world,” he said. After China and the United States, India is the third largest vehicle market in 2022, surpassing Japan.
Nitin Gadkari stated that India’s automobile industry is currently worth 7.5 lakh crore, and that the sector contributes the most to overall GST revenue.
“Lithium falls in the critical resource category, which was not earlier available in India and we were dependent for its 100 per cent import. The G3 (advanced) study of the GSI shows the presence of best quality lithium in abundant quantity in the foothills of Mata Vaishno Devi shrine at Salal village (Reasi),” J&K mining secretary Amit Sharma stated.
Nitin Gadkari also emphasised the importance of good infrastructure for any country’s development. The minister also emphasised the importance of reducing India’s logistics costs to single digits by 2024, from 16% of GDP currently. He requested that industry leaders invest in vehicle scrapping.
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