Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said the food delivery economy is very important for India as it generates large-scale employment.

Addressing Zomato's 'Sustainability and Inclusivity: Role of the Platform Economy' conference, the Road Transport and Highways minister said that at present India has 77 lakh delivery workers and this number is likely to touch 2.5 crore by 2030.

"Giving employment to 2.5 crore youths of this country is really a big thing for the country...The most important priority for all of us is to create jobs," he said.

The minister also appreciated online food delivery platform Zomato for providing employment to a lot of unemployed youth of the country.

He also expressed concerns about the number of road accidents and said the delivery boys have high chances of meeting accidents as they have to deliver the items in a limited time frame.

Gadkari said that in India, 45 accidents and 20 deaths take place per hour. The maximum lives lost are between the age bracket of 18 to 45.

"The two-wheeler deaths are 80,000...and deaths due to non-usage of helmet is 55,000," he said.

He further said 10,000 deaths take place due to driving on the wrong side.

Road accidents can be avoided by providing proper training, the minister said and congratulated Zomato for training 50,000 drivers.

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