DFS Secy reviews performance of Public Sector Insurance Companies (See 'Corp Brief') Patent Agent Examination 2026 held with 5,500 Candidates (See 'Corp Brief') CCI permits Chrys Capital to pick up equity in Nash Industries (See 'Corp Brief') Arbitration and Conciliation Act - as per Sections 38 & 39 of CPC, a decree can be executed by court with competent jurisdiction, including court where respondent's assets are located: HC (See 'Legal Desk') PFRDA undertakes NPS Outreach for MSMEs at Vibrant Gujarat (See 'Corp Brief') TRAI assesses Network Quality Across Nasik and Surrounding Area (See 'Corp Brief') YUVA AI: A step towards democratising access to AI Knowledge (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI - Direct acquisition of shares in Vodafone Idea by Government, arising from conversion of interest on deferred spectrum auction and AGR dues into equity, should be exempted from mandatory open offer requirements: SEBI (See 'Legal Desk') 'Jo Vaada Kiya, Wo Nibhana Padega' - Promissory Estoppel Reaffirmed: Supreme Court Reiterates the Rules of State Accountability (See CORP EINSICHT) Strategic Alliance between ICAR and NDDB to strengthen Innovation (See 'Corp Brief') BHASHINI Samudaye: Strengthening India's Language AI Ecosystem (See 'Corp Brief') Industrial Units are entitled to disbursal of capital investment subsidy & DG Set subsidy, and State Functionary is precluded from refusing to disburse same: SC (See 'Legal Desk') Minister reviews steps to romote manufacturing of Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (See 'Corp Brief') IIT Delhi hosts Seminar on advancing Quality Assessment of Medicinal Plants (See 'Corp Brief') IPR - Importance of doctrine of 'initial interest confusion' in pharmaceutical trade, affirming that even fleeting moment of confusion at initial stage is sufficient for infringement: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Pradhan interacts with PM-YUVA 3.0 authors at World Book Fair 2026 (See 'Corp Brief') Chouhan addresses Young Leaders at Viksit Bharat Dialogue 2026 (See 'Corp Brief') IBC/RTI - RTI application rightly rejected where Applicant was unable to demonstrate any significant public interest justifying the disclosure of information: IBBI (See 'Legal Desk') Health Pavilion emerges as major attraction at Vibrant Gujarat (See 'Corp Brief') MoS hosts informal interaction with J&K and Ladakh participants (See 'Corp Brief') Companies Law - Sec 433 of Companies Act, 2013 , which empowers NCLT/NCLAT to apply Limitation Act, 1963, cannot be given retrospective effect to empower CLB: SC (See 'Legal Desk') Pradhan inaugurates New Delhi World Book Fair 2026 (See 'Corp Brief') Department of Fisheries' push for Capacity building in Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - If accused is not in possession of sufficient assets to satisfy interest of all depositors/investors/victims, then only available option with PMLA Court is to proportionately divide available assets amongst creditors/depositors/investors: SAFEMA (See 'Legal Desk') Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 - provisions of Section 8 of Commercial Courts Act, 2015, bar filing of a revision petition against interlocutory order of Commercial Court, except in exceptional circumstances: HC (See 'Legal Desk') IBC - Deed of undertaking is not guarantee, and resolution plan does not extinguish rights against third-party security providers unless debt is fully satisfied: SC (See 'Legal Desk') PMLA - Continued incarceration of under-trial, without commencement or reasonable progress of trial, results in pre-trial detention being converted into punishment, which is impermissible in law: SC (See 'Legal Desk')

Workshop held to help drive transformation in India's road transport sector

Published: Jan 08, 2025

By TIOLCorplaws News Service

NEW DELHI, JAN 08, 2025: THE Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) organised a two-day workshop on 6th January 2024 and 7th January 2024 at Bharat Mandapam to holistically deliberate issues, solutions and next steps to be taken to help drive transformation in India's road transport sector. The 1st day of the workshop on 6th January was conducted with Transport Secretaries of all States / UTs, and was chaired by Secretary RT&H, V Umashankar. Additional Secretary Transport, Mahmood Ahmed opened the session and set the themes for the brainstorming workshop on this day.

Following the 6th January workshop with the Government officials, the 7th January workshop was conducted with Hon'ble Transport Ministers of all States / UTs, and was chaired by Hon'ble RT&H Minister, Nitin Gadkari Ji, where key ideas from the 6th January workshop were further expanded and aligned between Central and State Government stakeholders of the Road Transport sector. The day concluded with the 42nd Transport Development Council (TDC) meeting where suggestions from the country's transport organizations (e.g., AIMTC, BOCI and others) were deliberated with the Hon'ble Ministers and Transport Government officials.

During the two-day workshop, the following topics were deliberated, and specific actions for respective stakeholders were aligned, to help propel the road transport ecosystem forward:

1. Sustainable Transport

a. Accelerating implementation of Vehicle Scrapping Policy: Expediting operationalization of Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs) and Automated Testing Stations (ATSs) by states, and standardization of audit requirements & ratings of scrapping centers are some of the ideas discussed in this theme.

b. Pan-India adoption of PUCC 2.0: Revised PUCC guidelines were presented to ensure all the States are onboarded on them at the earliest.

c. Introduction of BS-VII norms: Timelines for introduction of new norms were discussed, along with expected reduction in pollution with the norms.

2. Safer Movement

a. Hon'ble RT&H Minister launched the scheme for pan-India setup of Driver Training Institutes (DTI) which provides incentives for setting up DTIs and additional incentives for integrated infrastructure of ATSs and DTIs.

b. Improvement in road safety through technology (e-DAR, IRAD, Sanjaya, Naksha): Hon'ble RT&H launched Naksha (Data Driven Road Safety Stack) with three applications Sanjaya Portal, Field Perception Survey, Madras matrix for road safety and black spot identification. Live demos were given for all applications. States have committed to using these tools for black spot reduction. Deliberations were done to have single emergency toll free number across the country. States were briefed about HumSafar policy and Wayside Amenities along the National Highways which play a crucial role in providing driver convenience while travelling on Highways.

Mandating reflective tapes to avoid night accidents and leveraging ATMS for e-challan issuance in cases of road safety violations were also deliberated. To promote post-crash care, cashless treatment for road accident victims (toll free number 112) and compensation for hit & run victims were also deliberated.

c. Improvement in E-Rickshaw Safety: It was agreed that given the proliferation of e-rickshaws across the country, specific regulations and guidelines for improving E-Rickshaw safety need to be introduced.

d. Improvement in vehicular safety: For other vehicle categories, to improve the vehicular safety, deliberations were done for:

Upgradation in bus body code for improved safety and accessibility for divyangjans and senior citizens.

Scaling up of BNCAP for all 4W models of OEMs for safety rating

Introduction of Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) for trucks

Strict enforcement of Retro reflective tape for transport vehicle safety

e. Implementation of Integrated Command Control Center for women safety in public service vehicles: Implementation of monitoring centers & vehicle location tracking device (VLTD) for safety of women & children were discussed, where ideas such as linking permit of transport vehicles to VLTD status and leveraging geo-location linked to panic button trigger for enforcement agency will be actioned.

3. Smart Mobility for Increased Convenience of Citizens

a. Pan-India launch of all faceless transport services (Vahan, Sarathi): States to complete launch and integration of all Faceless services by end of Mar'25. Further, a Committee of Secretaries with representatives from States, MoRTH and NIC will work towards standardization of faceless services modules, document standardization for registration.

b Adoption of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS): STUs to focus in bringing intelligent system software and components, instead of only hardware. Open loop Smart card payment to be encouraged. Automatic Vehicle Location System (AVLS) to be integrated with ERSS for enforcement.

c. Pan-India implementation of AITP, BH Series and HSRP in Vehicles: All these services are critical for ease of living and ease of doing business in India. On AITP, it was decided to form a committee to develop a detailed policy incorporating feedback from states. On HSRP, it was aligned that States will have all MoRTH empaneled vendors for HSRP affixation to reduce delays in HSRP implementation on account of litigation.

The workshops concluded with an address from Hon'ble Union Minister, Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari reinforcing the need to brings together all of these themes into a cohesive, forward-looking vision. Our collaborative efforts in this room will lay the foundation for a transport system that serves the needs of every citizen, contributes to our national development, and ensures a sustainable and safe future for all citizens.

TIOL CORP SEARCH

TIOL GROUP WEBSITES