Senior BJP minister Nitin Gadkari has on Friday revealed that he earns Rs 4 lakh from YouTube every month through presenting virtual lectures. An apparent revelation has showered more light on how the video streaming platform has been becoming a source of income for the politicians besides serving entertainment. 

Nitin Gadkari has been serving as the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways in the Modi cabinet and he was addressing an event in Gurugram, Haryana, after reviewing the progress of the Delhi-Mumbai expressway. Addressing the event, Gadkari had shared how he spent his time during the Covid-19 lockdown. He said, "I did two things in Covid time. I started cooking at home and giving lectures through video conference." 

He stated, "I delivered many lectures online, which were uploaded on YouTube. Owing to huge viewership, YouTube now pays me Rs 4 lakh per month." According to reports, the Union Minister has 1.99 lakh subscribers on YouTube and in his channel, he has been regularly uploading the coverage of speeches he delivers and events he attends, as well as road safety awareness videos, and addresses made by the President and the Prime Minister. 

In September 2020, Nitin Gadkari had tested positive for the Covid-19 viral infection and later he had recovered completely. He had said that physical exercises had helped him regain his health. He went on to share his post-Covid rehabilitation exercises on his YouTube channel and that video has become one of the popular clips on his channel by earning 6.5 lakh views. 

The event was participated by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Gurugram Lok Sabha MP Rao Inderjit Singh, senior officials of the state government and the National Highways Authority of India. The reports say that the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is being built at the cost of around Rs 95,000 crore and it would be completed by March 2023 with a majority of the work having already been allotted to contractors. 

Gadkari had addressed the event after taking stock of the situation of the ongoing project work at Lohtaki village in Gurugram. He said that the work on the 160km expressway stretch in Haryana would be completed by March 2022. It must be noted that the eight-lane 1,350 km Delhi-Mumbai expressway will be the first such highway in the country to have wildlife crossings, and there will also be a stretch in the name of 'e-highway', where heavy vehicles can travel at a speed of 120 kmph. The Union Minister further said that a part of the road from Delhi to Dausa in Rajasthan and from Vadodara to Ankleshwar will be built by March 2022.