Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said, here today that world class indegionus technology is now available in India for road and highway construction. However, he said, many of the sectoral Ministries are not fully aware of the technology being offered for application in their sector and, therefore, he has initiated a process wherein scientists from different streams separately sit with representatives of each of the sectoral Ministries to explain to them how best they can utilise the available technology.
The Minister was speaking at a programme to dedicate to the public two equipment developed by CSIR in the Union Ministry of Science & Technology for latest value addition in road construction and highways.
Shri Nitin Gadkari Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and General (Retd) V K Singh MoS RTH participated in the formal launching of ‘Mobile Cold Mixer Cum Paver’ for constructing black top layer using bitumen emulsion and ‘Patch Fill Machine’ for Pothole repair along the road.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, increasing application of Science and Technology in the Road Transport and Highways sector is adding great value to India’s developmental journey. He said, 25 years from now, when India will celebrate 100 years of Independence, the role of Highways in taking India as a frontline country in the world will be written in golden letters. To buttress this point, the Minister quoted former US President John F Kennedy, who once famously said, “American roads are not good because America is rich, but America is rich because American roads are good”.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, the use of affordable, sustainable and recyclable technologies in the Road and Highways sector is fast building the arterial network of India. He said, India is taking lead and marching fast with a vengeance to outpace many developing countries in cutting-edge technologies and reiterated that India’s ascent in coming decades will be determined through Science, Technology and Innovation.
Referring to the dedication of two equipment of ‘Mobile Cold Mixer Cum Paver’ for constructing black top layer using bitumen emulsion and ‘Patch Fill Machine’ for Pothole repair to the nation, Dr Jitendra Singh said, these are the perfect examples of “Atmanirbhar Bharat” as both the equipment are completely built indigenously. The Minister said, Cold Mixer and Patch Fill Machine will play a significant role in building roads and Highways in Hilly States of India, particularly in the North-Eastern Region.