Speaking during a programme in Nagpur, Gadkari tried to address the criticism of the high penalties under the new law, saying only those who were breaking the law were paying fines. "If one does not break the law, why will he need to pay a fine?"

Gadkari's remark come in the wake of reports from different parts of the country in which traffic police has been even levying fines above Rs. 50,000 for traffic rules violations in the aftermath of recent amendments to the motor vehicles law.

Auto Sector Crisis: The auto sector,  which is reeling from a slowing demand, has got a much-needed voice of support from Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. 

He also said the history will not be written by such opportunists but by those who stuck to their ideologies despite facing hardships.  

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has appointed Jitendra Asati, a 2009-batch IES officer, as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Pradhan for a period up to October 20, 2021.

The Shiv Sena, an ally of the BJP, controls the BMC, known to be the country's richest civic body. Gadkari made the remarks after performing `bhumi pujan' (ground breaking) for a mangroves park in Gorai area.

Breaking news: An IndiGo flight on Tuesday aborted its take-off in Nagpur after detection of a "serious error". The IndiGo flight, 6E 636, also had Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari onboard. All the passengers were de-boarded.

The incident happened at a function on the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Solapur University campus this afternoon where Gadkari was the guest of honour.

As part of innovative modes of financing to meet India's huge infrastructure appetite, insurance giant LIC has agreed to offer Rs 1.25 lakh crore line of credit by 2024, to fund highway projects, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari Tuesday said people have to pay toll if they want good roads, making it clear that the toll system would stay as the government does not have enough funds. Replying to a discussion on demands for grants for the Road Transport and Highways ministry in the Lok Sabha, he said the government built 40,000 kilometres of highway in the last five years.  

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said the speed limit was fixed as per the recommendation of a committee.

A review meeting on highway works within Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency limits was held Sunday at the residence of Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in Delhi, Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP, said here.

The chief minister said he informed Gadkari about the proposed Bhopal-Indore six-lane green field Expressway, which can be constructed either by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) or the state government.

"In an AISAM (Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism) meeting held on 28th March 2018, it was decided that due to issues like volatile crude oil prices and adverse fluctuations in exchange rates, the atmosphere was not conducive for the disinvestment. But this was last year," the ministry said in a statement.

The objective of the convention is to boost the international competitiveness of Indian MSMEs by making them aware of global trends and practices and standards in export financing, along with experience sharing by successful exporters, an official statement said.

Inaugurating the cleaning and deepening work of a pond in Qutubgarh village for rainwater harvesting, Gadkari also exhorted rural youth to take up new and modern modes of employment for improving their income.

Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari today inform the Rajya Sabha that the long-awaited uniform driving license which will be in a smart card format will soon be rolled out.

A total length of 24,800 kilometres of National Highways has been considered in Phase-I as well as 10,000 km residual road works under the NHDP.

Replying to queries during Question Hour, he said the main problem in delay of projects was land acquisition as the cost was very high in some states, but claimed his ministry had saved NPAs worth 3 lakh crore during the past five years through early implementation.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari Saturday assured Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand of all cooperation in expediting highway projects.