INDIA is the fastest highway developer in the world with 27 km of highways being built every day, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday highlighting the importance of infrastructure sector in the nation’s development. Presenting the interim Budget for 2019-20 in Lok Sabha, Goyal said there are now 100 functional airports in India under UDAN scheme with the latest addition of the airport in Sikkim. Asserting that rapid infrastructure growth has ushered in transformative changes, Goyal said, India is the fastest highway developer in the whole world with 27 km of highways being built every day. Crediting the Government for rolling out stuck projects like Eastern Peripheral Expressway to decongest Delhi and Bogibeel Bridge in Assam, Goyal said India also witnessed container movement on waterways. Mentioning the Government ambitious Sagarmala project for port-led development, Goyal said for the first time container cargo was moved on Kolkata to Varanasi stretch and now work is on for container cargo movement to the North-East. Goyal in his budget speech also said that for a 10-trillion dollar economy which India aspires to become, physical and social infrastructure will be developed. FINANCE Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said India would lead the world in transportation sector, with electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage devices set to play a leading role in the segment. Presenting the Interim Budget for 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha, Goyal also said the usage of such green technologies would help the country become self reliant in terms of energy requirements. India will lead the world in transport revolution through electric vehicles and energy storage devices bringing down import dependence and ensuring energy security for our country, Goyal said. When the country will not have to import fuel and gas from abroad, there will be rapid growth in sources of renewable energy, he added. When people will start using electric vehicles, I am sure it will save foreign currency and nation would become self reliant, the Minister said. Electric vehicle sales in India are expected to be 30 per cent of total sales by 2030. According to Niti Aayog estimates, EV sales are expected to touch around 25.36 million units in India in 2030. However, around 59.17 million units will continue to be powered by internal combustion engines (ICEs). THE Government will start a national centre for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and turn one lakh villages into digital village in a bid to harness new age-technologies for citizens’ benefit, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday. Presenting the interim Budget for 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha, Goyal highlighted that India has become the second largest hub for startups and offers possibly the lowest rates for data and voice calls globally.