Nitin Gadkari

Nitin Gadkari

Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India
  1. Mr. Nitin Gadkari is the Minister for Road Transport and Highways (RT&H), Government of India. Mr. Nitin Gadkari was born on 27th May 1957 in a middle-class family with roots in agriculture in Maharashtra’s Orange-city Nagpur. Mr. Gadkari got involved very closely with the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and took to social work in a big way.
  2. Mr. Gadkari completed his Post-Graduation in Commerce, besides studying Law and obtaining a Diploma in Business Management. Mr. Gadkari has been honored with Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) by the Mahatma PhuleKrishiVidyapeeth (MPKV), Rahuri, Ahmednagar in 2021 and Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidhyapeeth (PDKV), Akola, Maharashtra in 2022 for his outstanding contributions to the field of agriculture and research for ensuring the financial security of farmers. In 2022, he received Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) from the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad for significant contributions in road and infrastructure development in the country. He has received multiple Doctorates from reputed government and private institutions for his exceptional work in Agriculture, Water Conservation and Infrastructure Development.
  3. Mr. Gadkari formally entered politics in 1980. Principally, he believes that Politics is an instrument to bring socio-economic reforms in society. He went on to become BJP’s State President in Maharashtra in 2005. He was elevated to the post of party’s National President at theyoung ageof 52 in 2009. He served as PWD Minister in Maharashtra Government during 1995-99 and was leader of the Opposition in the State Legislative Council for four consecutive terms.
  4. Mr. Gadkari is committed to promoting the use of alternative fuels, which are import-substitutes, cost effective,indigenousand pollution-free. Under Mr. Gadkari’s guidance, the city of Nagpur was the first city to explore alternative bio-fuels for transport, including Bio-CNG, Bio-Ethanol and LNG. Mr. Gadkari is also introducing Flex-Fuel engines to be run on 100% Ethanol. He also launched the first ever tractor in India, which is run on bio-CNG, thus providing additional income to farmers. He also emphasizes on adoption of Green Hydrogen as a clean and indigenous source of energy, across various industries and mobility sector. Recently, he has launched a car in Delhi, on pilot basis, which runs completely on Hydrogen. He has also declared 10 routes for conducting Hydrogen trials.
  5. Under his supervision, over90,000 kmsof National Highways have been constructed in the last 10 years and 60,000 kms of new National Highways have been added to the NH network of our country. Twenty-Seven world class access-controlled Greenfield expressway projects are under various stages of construction under the leadership of Mr. Gadkari. They are of around 10000 kms in length and have a capital cost of Rs 5 Lakh Crores. Mr. Gadkari is a proponent of remote & tribal connectivity. Most of these Green Field alignments are passing through remote and tribal areas. These Greenfield Highways will promote socio-economic development of remote and tribal areas. He is the man behind marvelous engineering showcases like Bandra-Worli Sea Link, 55 flyovers in Mumbai, India‘s First Mumbai-Pune Expressway, 14-lane Delhi-Meerut Expressway, Nagpur’s Multi-Layer Metro-Rail cum Flyover system and the upcoming high-tech Delhi-Mumbai expressway. The Delhi-Mumbai distance will be covered in just 12 hours. This will change the entire dynamics of passenger and freight movement on this busiest corridor of India. Moreover, recently constructed Dwarka Expressway, which is an engineering marvel, will be one of the most impactful projects under his leadership. Mr. Gadkari is also credited for de-congesting the national capital city of Delhi. Since 2014, under his tenure, projects of around Rs 1 Lakh crore are constructed which has eased movement of goods and people in the city.
  6. As part of his vision for green and sustainable infrastructure, Mr. Gadkari has championed multiple initiatives to reduce carbon emissions. NHAI has used recycled materials such as fly ash, plastic, steel slag, bio bitumen from rice straw, reclaimed asphalt, and construction & demolition waste in road construction GRFP bars. Wildlife corridors and animal underpasses/overpasses are being built to protect biodiversity, while bamboo crash barriers are being deployed as eco-friendly safety measures. Under the Amrit Sarovar initiative, 476 water bodies have already been rejuvenated against a target of 510. Solar power systems installed in toll plaza have resulted in electricity savings. More than 4.78 crore trees have been planted, and 70,000 trees transplanted along highways to preserve green cover. These efforts reflect his commitment to blending infrastructure growth with environmental responsibility.
  7. Multi-Modal Logistics Parks, Way Side Amenities, Tunnels,Emergency Landing Strips,are currently being developed under Mr. Gadkari’s tenure. His Ministry has also received around 300+ proposals from State Governments to develop Ropeways. 
  8. Gadkari introduced the first ever Motor Vehicle Scraping Policyin the fightagainst Pollution and Road & Vehicle safety. The New FASTAG policy introduced by Mr Gadkari, is helping commuters to save fuel and time on Toll Plazas. Now, to make it easier and economical for private vehicle owners, Mr. Gadkari has declared an Annual Pass Policy, which will go-live from 15th August 2025. 
  9. Some of his majorworksin the area of promoting green economy, include unprecedented push for R&D in electric vehicles for developing alternative battery chemistries, such as Sodium and Aluminum batteries and Hydrogen fuel  With his waste to wealth policy, Mr. Gadkari is promoting use of new, advanced and recycled waste materials in road construction works. For fast and economical construction, he has mandated large scale use of pre-fabricated pre-cast concrete elements in the highways projects. He is encouraging tree plantation along the highways, installation of solar panels, rain water harvesting and artificial ground water recharge systems. Mr. Gadkari is committed towards the development of qualitative, time-bound, cost effective and sustainable world-class infrastructure in the country.
  10. During his tenure as the Union Minister for Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation, the monumental “Namami Gange” project became a mass movement involving central and state government agencies, private sector and foreign investors, NGOs, spiritual and social organizations as well as the common people. With his political stature he resolved Inter-State disputes on Water sharing and River Linking, involving 16 rivers in 11 States in a short span of six months. The first Inland Waterway was developed during his tenure, and goods movement was commenced between Varanasi and Kolkata, adding a new dimension to the logistical history of inland water ways in the country. As a part of Amrit Sarovar Mission, he initiated to develop 40 farm ponds in Akola district in association with PDKV. This would help to create additional water storage in the region. Under his leadership, MoRTH has issued the guidelines for use of excavated material from water bodies in Highway construction. 
← Back