WION Climate Summit | India's first Hydrogen-powered car to be unveiled: Gadkari

India's Minister for Road Transport and Highways Mr Nitin Gadkari made a big announcement at WION Climate Summit on March 15. He revealed that India's first Hydrogen-powered car was to be unveiled on Wednesday (March 16). The car, made as a pilot project, was kept at his residence, he said.

Gadkari was chief guest at the first edition of WION's annual Climate Summit the theme of which was 'Climate Calling: The last chance to answer climate emergency'.

Nitin Gadkari is a veteran politician of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and has ably steered various ministries on national and state level.

Also Read | WION Climate Summit: Climate Change can deprive us from basic needs, warns Sudhir Chaudhary

In his address during the summit, Gadkari said that there was a need to find alternate options for fuels like petrol and diesel.

"Cost of running a vehicle on petrol is Rs 10 per kilometre. On diesel, it is Rs 7 to 8. But for a vehicle running on electricity, the cost comes down to less than Re 1," he said.

He said that Indian government was focusing on more electric vehicles. He drew attention to the fact that electric vehicles like tractors and trucks were already being manufactured in India. He expressed hope that manufacture of electric vehicles will get a boost in India and that customers will also go electric in their choice for a personal vehicle. He said that

During he speech, he elaborated the fine balance that needed to be struck while making a shift to electric vehicles. He said that India's automobile sector was expanding. It remains a sector that produces jobs for thousands of people in the country. But at the same time, air pollution caused by traditional vehicles was also a big issue.