Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday highlighted the growth of the country's auto sector in the past few years, during which it became the third biggest player in the segment, and said the aim is to become number one.
"...our number was seventh in the world but we are third in the automobile sector... we surpassed Japan and now our number is third," Union Road Transport and Highways Minister said while addressing a function at National Automotive Test Tracks (NATRAX).
"The size of the USA automobile sector at the top (of the table) was Rs 78 lakh crore industry size, while that of China was Rs 47 lakh crore," Mr Gadkari said.
"When I took charge of the ministry, the size of the industry was Rs 7.5 lakh crore and today its size is Rs 22 lakh crore. And this is the industry, which has created 4.5 crore jobs till now -- the highest in the country.
"This is the automobile industry, which is giving maximum revenue as a part of GST to the state government and Bharat Sarkar," he added.
The industry has maximum exports, Mr Gadkari said, adding that "our dream is to make the Indian automobile industry number one in the world".
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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