Emulate US best-practices to grow faster: Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari Friday said the country needs to apply the best practices of its trade partners like the US to become one of the most powerful economies in the world. "We are aspiring to become one of the most powerful economies. We have the potential and we are one of the fastest growing economies. Over the years, we've understood that innovation, entrepreneurship, science, technology and skills are the knowledge areas that need to be converted into wealth," he said at an Indo-American Chamber event.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to the US tonight and I am confident that our ties will become stronger with the visit," Gadkari added. Speaking at the event, US consul general David J Ranz said both the countries should focus on key areas of priorities like clean energy, ecommerce, smart cities and defence to achieve USD 500-billion bilateral trade target.

"Economic ties between the two countries have come a long way since the past two decades and the bilateral trade with India has doubled over the past decade from USD 57.9 billion in 2007 to USD142 billion last year," he added..