NHAI to share Data with Govt Research Institutions (See 'Corp Brief') 42.7 LMT of urea secured through Global Tenders to Strengthen Supply Chain (See 'Corp Brief') SARFAESI - State cannot 'chase' asset once it has been legally sold to third-party auction purchaser by secured creditor enforcing its priority rights: HC (See 'Legal Desk') PMJDY records 58.63 Cr Accounts with Deposits Exceeding Rs.3 Lakh Crore (See 'Corp Brief') Misc - Definition of 'public authority' under RTI Act includes any non-governmental body that is 'substantially financed' by government: HC (See 'Legal Desk') IICA inaugurates 8th Batch of its Flagship Post Graduate Insolvency Programme (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Creditor cannot obstruct going-concern liquidation sale if they fail to comply with mandatory procedural requirements of insolvency: NCLAT (See 'Legal Desk') NHAI enhances Digital Services on RajmargYatra Mobile App (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - If guarantees were contractually agreed substitute for cash deductions, it should ideally remain in place to secure interests until final resolution: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Govt, RBI strengthen Fintech Ecosystem with Enhanced Regulatory Frameworks (See 'Corp Brief') Govt modernising official statistical system through greater use of digital technologies (See 'Corp Brief') NI Act - In complaint u/s 138 filed by company, substitution of company's AR is legally permissible, and non-examination of first AR cannot, by itself, be treated as fatal defect leading to acquittal: HC (See 'Legal Desk') 58 Leaders from 40 Political Parties attended Meeting (See 'Corp Brief') Odisha's New Coastal Highway: A Gateway to Spiritual Journeys (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Foreign subsidiary assets must remain separate from parent company's insolvency proceedings: NCLAT (See 'Legal Desk') Vaishnaw flags Off Ramnagar-Dehradun Express (See 'Corp Brief') Centre provides extended Relief Window for Select Solar Projects up to December (See 'Corp Brief') Arbitration and Conciliation - A supervisory court lacks power to modify an award or grant fresh substantive reliefs, rendering petitioner's prayer for active domain transfer legally unmaintainable: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Vivek Nishant Nath takes charge as Director (Commercial), NMDC (See 'Corp Brief') Aadhaar App crosses 40 Million Downloads, Driving Convenient Digital Identity Services (See 'Corp Brief') Arbitration - Scope of interference under Section 37 of the Act is highly circumscribed & does not permit re-appreciation of evidence or fresh factual determination on matters of accounting: HC (See 'Legal Desk') PM lays bricks for 150-bed state-of-the-art Critical Care Block at PGIMER (See 'Corp Brief') Govt to release Revised Index of Core Industries Series with Base Year 2022-23 (See 'Corp Brief') 4th Edition of IICA's National Conference on Responsible Business Conduct held in Delhi (See 'Corp Brief') Capital Market - AMC/ Fund houses cannot, on grounds of commercial expediency or investor benefit, unilaterally extend maturity of securities and delay redemption of scheme proceeds: SC (See 'Legal Desk') MSDE extends Special Intervention under PM-NAPS to Boost Apprenticeship (See 'Corp Brief') Centre for Trade and Investment Law launches guidebook to help Indian MSMEs expand into global markets (See 'Corp Brief') Misc - Metro depot is indispensable part of metro rail project and therefore squarely falls within public purpose: SC (See 'Legal Desk') Goyal leads High-Level Delegation to Finland to Strengthen Trade and Investment Ties (See 'Corp Brief') Over 75 Industries join ICAR CSR Conclave 2026 (See 'Corp Brief') Misc - Inclusion of royalty, DMF and NMET in sale value under Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 2017, is valid measure for computation of average sale price and does not alter nature of royalty u/s 9 of MMDR Act: SC (See 'Legal Desk') Tech Innovation and disruption in Construction Industry (See 'CORP EINSICHT')

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