Banks should give loans at low rates to those who want to buy clean energy vehicles: Nitin Gadkari

Thane:

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today asked banks to give loans at low interest rates to those who buy vehicles running on clean energy, including flex fuel, electricity and hydrogen.

Speaking at the golden jubilee celebrations of a cooperative bank at Kalyan in Maharashtra’s Thane district, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways said it was his dream that vehicles running on diesel and petrol be phased out in the next four to five years.

Banks should rate industries on the basis of their performance on various parameters in the last five years and give loans to high scorers within 24 hours, he said, adding credibility and goodwill would be the biggest capital in the 21st century .

Speaking about passenger benefits when public transport turns to electric vehicles, Nitin Gadkari said that the cost of operating a non-air-conditioned electric bus is Rs 39 per km, while it is Rs 41 per km for an AC electric bus.

“All buses in cities like Thane, Kalyan can be converted into electric buses, which will help bring down ticket prices for passengers by up to 30 per cent,” he asserted.

Nitin Gadkari said that 406 projects with a total outlay of Rs 3.85 lakh crore are stuck due to wrong decisions, but the minister also said that it is also undesirable not to take any decision for fear of being wrong.

“Bal Thackeray once gave me a quote written in acrylic. It said I like people who can get things done. I like honest people who make wrong decisions. I try to appreciate those people. Those who are dishonest and take wrong decisions. I dislike people who don’t want to take decisions,” Nitin Gadkari said.

He claimed that bonds issued by his ministry were giving better returns than deposits in co-operative banks and said retired personnel and others should invest in them.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)