New Delhi, Aug. 22 -- Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said that if India can reduce the cost of hydrogen production from the current USD 5 per kilogram to USD 1 per kilogram, the country could not only achieve energy independence but also emerge as a global exporter of clean energy.

Speaking at the 24th Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture hosted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Gadkari described solar energy as the 'Sanjeevani Booti' for the planet and hydrogen as the fuel of the future.

The minister stressed that true progress lay in strengthening rural India.

"With 80 percent of people still connected to agriculture, we must diversify farming towards energy and power, invest in water c...