Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has urged that finding and using cost-effective fuels, that are also economically viable, is imperative to reduce pollution caused by vehicles.

Inaugurating 'Green Hydrogen Conclave' in Mumbai on Thursday (25 May), Gadkari pointed out that alternative fuels like bio-CNG and green hydrogen not only help in reducing pollution, but also save a lot in fuel cost.

India's potential for green hydrogen is 5 million metric tonne per year, he informed.

He said that it is the responsibility of all the stakeholders to make these fuels available to the people at cost-effective rates and create awareness among common citizens about the necessity of using these fuels.

The Union Road Transport and Highways Minister said that green hydrogen will not be useful if its cost is high and urged stakeholders to focus on keeping the rates low. In this connection, he said that the Government has taken the initiative to create wealth out of waste that is generated in our lives.

Gadkari stated that the country is facing two big challenges now, one of which is related to import of fossil fuels amounting to lakhs of crores of rupees which, therefore, poses a big economic challenge to the country.

The other challenge is related to curbing pollution. We are facing a very serious problem of air pollution, particularly in the metro cities, he added.

These are matters of concern, he reiterated. He also said that not only in India, everywhere in the world people are speaking about decarbonisation, which is important as far as climate change is concerned.

The Union Minister said that the vision of a self-reliant India and a five trillion-dollar economy will be realized as soon as possible if there is more and more production of cost-effective, pollution-free, and environment-friendly indigenous products that provide alternatives to imports and lessens all sorts of pollution in the country. "Our dream is to make India an exporter of energy", he said.

The Union Road Transport and Highways Minister also said that, while we are working very fast on thermal power, hydro power and wind power, we also have to look at nuclear power, which is a zero-emission clean energy source.

Agriculture and energy sectors are the need of the hour, he added.

The Union Minister also urged that by linking agriculture with proven technology and the power sector, many jobs can be created.

The dignitaries present on the occasion included Ravindra Boratkar, President, Maharashtra Economic Development Council; Erik Solhiem, Green politician; Arne Jan Flolo, Consul General, Royal Norwegian Consulate General in Mumbai; Achim Fabig, Consul General, Germany; Dr Yasukata Fukahari, Consul General, Japan; Manish Panchal, Event Chair, GH2 Conclave; and Shardul Kulkarni, Knowledge Chair, GH2 Conclave.

The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy supported the event.