The government is expected to award projects worth Rs 5 lakh crore in coming months, the minister said.

The central government is expected to take some policy decisions and come up with some major road infrastructure projects to arrest the sales downturn being faced by the automobile industry, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday.

The Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises was speaking at the annual convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Mr Gadkari said that in order to address the issues concerning the auto industry, the government is expected to award road projects worth Rs 5 lakh crore in the coming months. He said that these new construction projects would generate a demand for automobile construction equipment such as trucks.

The auto industry body has sought steps from the government, including a reduction in GST rates, to help them.

At present, the sector suffers from a sales downturn due to several factors like high GST rates, farm distress, stagnant wages and liquidity constraints.

Besides this, the inventory pile-up and stock management of unsold BS-IV vehicles have also added to the problems in the sector.