India to Become 3rd Largest Economy: Modi

New Delhi, Feb 2 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India is moving fast and will become the world's third largest economy in the third term of his government.

The general elections are due in April-May this year.

Addressing the Bharat Mobility Global Expo here, the prime minister also announced that 1,000 modern rest houses in Phase-1 will be constructed along national highways for truck and taxi drivers.

"India is certain to become the third largest economy in the world in the third term of our government," he said.

Further, Modi said that in the 10 years before 2014, around 12 crore vehicles were sold in the country. However, since 2014 more than 21 crore vehicles have been sold in the country, he added.

According to him, 10 years ago, around 2,000 electric vehicles were being sold.

Now 12 lakh electric vehicles are being sold. In the last 10 years, around 60 per cent growth has been registered in passenger vehicles, he added.

He also talked about the advancements India is making in the infrastructure sector.

"We are challenging seas and mountains, and building engineering marvels in record time. From Atal Tunnel to Atal Setu, India's infrastructural development is creating new records. In the last 10 years, 75 new airports have been built. Around 4 lakh rural roads have been constructed," he said.

He also exhorted the industry to pursue research and development (R&D) to manufacture batteries using locally available raw materials.