Nagpur: The BRICS transport working group on Saturday passed a resolution presented by Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari on building a carbon-neutral regime by putting into use biofuels and other alternative sources of energy in all modes of transport, including road, railway and aviation. The resolution also covers sharing research and innovation between the member countries.The third meeting of the BRICS transport working group, organised under India’s chairship, was held in Nagpur. The first two meets were held in Russia and Brazil. Gadkari, who chaired the transport ministers’ meeting, told media, “BRICS member countries represent 40% of the world’s population, which places them uniquely in taking a lead in building sustainable transport systems.”In his address at the ministerial meet, Gadkari said India has taken major leaps in infrastructure development by building the world’s second-largest road network apart from taking big strides in creating rail and maritime infrastructure and increasing air connectivity. “This infrastructure push comes with a commitment to environmental sustainability and technical innovation,” he said.Gadkari also spoke about recycling of municipal waste and fly ash, use of steel slag and end-of-life tyres in road construction, building crash barriers out of bamboo as examples of environmentally responsible infrastructure development in the country. He also mentioned cashless treatment of accident victims.Gadkari referred to deployment of electric buses, green urban mobility scheme and success of the UDAN initiative in improving regional air connectivity. He said the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan has transformed infrastructure planning through integrated multimodal development, reducing logistics costs and accelerating project implementation.He said India has also successfully mobilised private investment into infrastructure projects with the hybrid annuity model adopted by his ministry. The minister cited projects like Delhi-Dehradun Economic Corridor, Songmarg Tunnel and over 10,000 greenfield expressways as success stories. The country has also achieved significant expansion of access-controlled expressways.Gadkari called for India’s readiness to deepen cooperation through knowledge sharing and joint research in sectors like green hydrogen, electric mobility, digital transport systems and sustainable multimodal infrastructure. “The railways have undergone unprecedented modernisation. There has been significant progress on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor project. The country’s Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 agenda includes green shipping initiative as an important step towards strengthening logistics efficiency,” said Gadkari.Sources said India has committed to becoming carbon-neutral by 2070, and is working towards the goal with aggressive push for eletric vehicles, railway electrification, and use of biofuels.
