)
Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday blamed high bank interest rates and red tape in the finance minis try as two key obstacles to the growth of the road and transport sector in the country. Gadkari said the Centre was close to a solution to the Sethusamudram shipping canal project, and that it would be implemented without demolishing Ram Setu.
Gadkari told a gathering at the World Hindu Economic Forum that his ministry was trying to find ways to overcome hurdles to meet its target of constructing 30 km of highways every day by 2016, lifting it from the current average of three km a day.
The minister hoped the financial needs of the sector would be met substantially by the government approving collection of Rs 50,000 crore through special infrastructure bonds.
India has several advantages in the road sector, including cheap labour and competent contractors, Gadkari said.
He noted that high interest rates at 12-13 per cent are a drawback, as is the "red-tape" in the finance ministry that has made foreign investments in the sector difficult. The ministry has requested the Reserve Bank of India to cut interest rates, Gadkari said.
He said the ministry under him was looking at ways to bring in money into the sector at low interest rates through tripartite agreements between banks, the government and investors. He said the ministry was also trying to approve 288 projects worth Rs 2,80,000 crore awaiting clearances because of myriad problems, including court cases related to land acquisition.
Gadkari, who also holds the shipping portfolio, spoke at length about the innovations being carried out in the sector, and said he planned to focus on development of inland waterways.
He said he was hopeful of learning from innovations he saw during his recent tour to western European cities. Framing of a new Bill to convert any river to waterways also features in the high priority list of the minister.
He said as much as 30 per cent of all driving licences in the country are bogus and that the new Motor Vehicles Bill will address these issues.
He said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre has found a solution to the Sethusamudram issue, which would involve building a canal without demolishing the mythological Ram Setu built by Lord Rama to reach Lanka.
The project involves dredging a ship channel across Palk Strait to provide a shorter navigational route for ships from east and west coasts of the country instead of circumventing Sri Lanka.
Commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the conference the government was trying to simplify tax structure. "We are trying to do everything to simplify it (tax structure) so that it becomes user-friendly and make it less adversarial and ensures that family is not disincentivised. So we are trying to see how best we nurture family and ensure that the tax structure is not going to be a disincentive for being in a family," said Sitharaman.
She said strong leadership in India and substantive arguments led to resolution of differences on food security related issues and paved the way for ending the impasse at the World Trade Organization. On intellectual property rights issue, Sitharaman said India's laws are very progressive and are compliant with global norms.
