Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has invited investors from the US to tap the potential of seaplanes in the country, a move that will boost the tourism sector.
Promising early approvals, Road Transport and Highways Minister Gadkari said this is an era of innovation which could change the face of the country, be it science and technology or agriculture.
"We want to encourage seaplanes. A small nation like Maldives has a fleet of 47 seaplanes but India despite vast potential has none. I urge industrialists from the US to come to India in the area. Here is the potential", Gadkari said.
Seaplanes would boost tourism and the government will facilitate all approvals, Gadkari said addressing the Global R&D Summit 2015 here, organised by FICCI.
Governments' top priority is to develop its 1,300 islands and 218 lighthouses to attract tourists, he said adding it was committed to sustainable development through environment-friendly policies.
Asserting that Delhi's pollution has been catching all attention, he said "we will solve the problem of pollution due to automobile industry" in two years as massive attention is being paid to improving road designs, decongesting traffic and promoting eco-friendly fuel like ethanol.
He said the government is committed to completing the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, foundation stone of which was laid by Prime Minister in a year's time instead of scheduled two-and-a-half years.
The 135-km Expressway at a cost Rs 5,763 crore has been designed to ease traffic from the national capital and minimise pollution.
"We are also committed to minimise road accidents as these cause losses worth Rs 55,000 crore per annum which is equivalent to 3 per cent of the GDP", he said.
In about 5 lakh accidents annually, 1.5 lakh people lose their lives in India.
The government is also promoting waterways and hopeful of getting Parliament nod on the Bill to convert 111 rivers into waterways, which is a much cheaper mode of transport, he said.
Gadkari said thrust was also on rail connectivity to ports and one such project of transporting coal to western coasts from Talcher via Paradip will result in annual savings to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore.
The Minister said there was also need to bring innovation in agriculture and to diversify it to energy and power.
"We are a rich nation with a poor population. Wrong economic policies, bad and vision less governance and corruption are responsible for these.
"We need leadership for progress and development..We need innovation, entrepreneurship and technology, skill development, e-governance and this is the time for the country to take advantage of the situation. We have all types of resources available with us", he said.
Gadkari said farmers should be encouraged to produce
ethanol while stressing that employment potential has to be increased to eradicate poverty.
He also emphasised that municipal waste can be converted into wealth and 100 buses will run on bio CNG in Nagpur after the success of one such bus.
The Minister said that ISRO scientists in collaboration with his ministry have developed lithium-ion batteries which cost barely Rs 5 lakh as against global price of Rs 55 lakh and the government has plans to run buses on such batteries.
Meanwhile, pushing the government's eco-friendly policies, Road Transport and Highways Ministry will gift two electric buses to Parliament for MPs to commute, he said.
Gadkari also stressed on production of urea from coal as it is more economical.
"Unfortunately four out of 30 factories in the country are producing it from Naphtha, the cost of which is more than Rs 40,000 a tonne.
"There is a huge Rs 55,000 crore subsidy on urea which can be minimised if we start producing it from coal as the country has abundant coal resources", the Minister said.
"We are importing urea from China. They are making urea from coal. We have got ample of coal available with us. The cost of urea from coal is just Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 a tonne", he said.
