Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that hydrogen is expected to play a major role in the future of India's transportation sector, with the government already conducting pilot projects across 10 highway routes to evaluate hydrogen-powered mobility solutions.

The selected corridors include major routes such as Greater Noida–Delhi–Agra, Pune–Mumbai, Ahmedabad–Vadodara–Surat, Bhubaneswar–Konark–Puri, Thiruvananthapuram–Kochi and several others.Speaking at the Prawaas 5.

0 and Bharat Prawaas Awards event in Gandhinagar, Gadkari said these trials are part of the government's broader strategy to promote cleaner and more sustainable transport technologies.

He also highlighted the progress made by the Indian automobile industry in developing alternative fuel and biofuel technologies and expressed confidence that India could become a global leader in both innovation and cost-effective manufacturing.

Gadkari encouraged vehicle manufacturers and transport operators to improve passenger comfort while maintaining affordability and adopting world-class technologies.Addressing road safety, he noted that India records nearly five lakh road accidents annually, resulting in around 1.8 lakh deaths, with a large proportion of victims aged between 18 and 36 years.He added that road accidents cause an estimated 3% loss to the country's GDP, making road safety one of the government's highest priorities.

Gadkari also said the Indian automobile industry has expanded from ₹14 lakh crore to ₹22 lakh crore during his tenure, making India the world's third-largest automobile market, with the ambition of becoming the largest.

Separately, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri clarified that E25 petrol, containing 25% ethanol, is currently only undergoing testing and that no decision has been taken regarding its commercial rollout.

Both ministers reiterated the government's commitment to promoting multiple alternative fuel options after scientific evaluation and stakeholder consultations.