Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said that India can become a "super economic power" given its economic potential.
He was speaking on the topic "India's Growth" at an award ceremony organized by Pune Mirror, an English daily.
As much as 52 to 54 percent growth in the country comes from the service industry, 20 to 24 percent from the manufacturing industry and agriculture and allied sectors contribute 12 to 14 percent growth, he said.
"India is the fastest growing economy...I feel there is huge potential for the Indian economy and we can become a super economic power," he said.
The industrial growth in urban areas is good but it lags in rural and tribal areas and in agriculture, he noted.
"So the most important challenge before the Indian economy is how we are going to create an economy which is going to create more employment potential," he said.
"We are importing petrol and diesel worth Rs 17 lakh crore and creating pollution in the country. We can diversify our agriculture towards the energy and power sectors. Yesterday, we have decided to launch a flex engine for the Toyota car's Camry on 100 percent bio-ethanol. Two-wheelers and three-wheelers can run on 100 percent bio-ethanol. We have got a lot of ethanol available. You can convert sugarcane juice, molasses, and rice into ethanol," he said.
While wishing all those who received awards at the function, the BJP leader said society should respect those who are doing excellent work.
"One thing that always happens in our country is that those who do good work are never respected, and those who do bad work are never punished," he said.
(Inputs from PTI)
