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JULY 2017 VOL. 03 ISSUE 10 `60 PR NO: UP/GBD-212/2015-17 Date of Publishing 04-07-2017 Date of Posting 07-07-2017
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SMART TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS
PG 8
STATUS & PROSPECTS OF URBAN TRANSPORTATION VIS-A-VIS DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES PG 20
SMART TRANSPORTATION A REALITY IN INDIA WITH CHANGING TIMES PG 12
MULTI-MODAL TRANSPORT ALL THE WAY TO SEAMLESS TRAVEL PG 36 4 - July 2017 / Governance Today
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Editor-in-Chief Ajit Sinha Special Correspondent Kritinath Jha CORPORATE OFFICE Strategy Head Ajay Kumar Corporate Sales & Marketing Arpit Srivastava Mangaer - Business Development ( sales ) arpit@governancetoday.co.in I 7905566270 Ruchir Tiwari Assit. Sales Mangaer - Business Development ruchir@governancetoday.co.in I
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A NEW LEASE OF LIFE TO PPP THROUGH HAM FOR INFRA PROJECTS PG 42
A DEDICATED AGENCY TO BE IN PLACE FOR BETTER TRANSPORT AND ROAD SAFETY SYSTEM Geetam Tiwari, Ph.D. MOUD Chair Professor for Transport Planning, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT, New Delhi
Dr Dharminder Nagar, Nandini Sinha, Dr Rajneesh Chauhan, Dr Saurabh Arora FOR SUBSCRIPTION, CONTACT subscription@governancetoday.co.in 9990267960 Published By Ajit Kumar Sinha 713, 3BA - Tower No. - 4, River Heights, Raj Nagar Extn - Ghaziabad Uttar Pradesh-201003 Printed & Published by Ajit Kumar Sinha on behalf of Odyssey Infomedia Pvt. Ltd. Printed at First Impression Corporate Services Pvt Ltd E-114, Sector-63, Noida-201301 (U.P.) Editor-In-Chief: Ajit Kumar Sinha @ All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, and mechanical, including photocopy, or any other information storage or retrieval system, without publisher’s permission.
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July 2017 / Governance Today - 5
Editorial’s
Desk
Are We Not Capable Enough To Stamp Out
W
hen I have started writing this editorial, I am in anguish of the Uttar Pradesh incident. Every child is important for country.The angst of parents could not sum up in word like the pain of nation as well in words. We all know the nation has lost would - be engineers, doctors, entrepreneurs, scientist, bureaucrats and politician etc. every year either it’s a mistake of administration or it’s a callousness of our creaky system. First question came to mind that why that much of country’s future was in hospital at a time and fighting for life and death. Due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome. What is this? Are we not capable enough to root out it? We all are politicizing the entire issue blaming Gas agencies, Government, Administration, and politician. No one is talking measures to prevent our future from premature death. AES and JEV first reported in 1955 in Vellore (Tamilnadu) and 1973 at Bankura Distt. In West Bengal. Thereafter, sporadic cases of AES and outbreaks have been the leading cause of premature deaths due to the diseases in India. The Government and administration were not taking it seriously at that time. Between 2000 and 2010, a dramatic change was observed in the AES scenario, which saw the rise in non-JE outbreaks mostly caused by viruses such as Chandipura virus (CHPV), Nipah virus (NiV), and other viruses
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Endemic regions of various viruses reported to cause AES in India. JEV has its endemic zones running along the Gangetic plains including states of UP (east), Bihar, West Bengal and Assam, and parts of Tamil Nadu. CHPV that hit the states of Maharashtra ... JE was the major cause of these deaths, albeit virologists identified another causal agent in the form of ‘toxin-mediated illnesses. Investigators hypothesized the causal agent as a toxin prevalent in the litchi fruit (Indian Express, 14/10/ 2014). Safe and effective vaccines are available to prevent AE/JE. WHO recommends that AE/JE vaccination be integrated into national immunization schedules in all areas where JE disease is recognized as a public health issue? Second Most important issue is 35A and 370 in that particular subject, the political parties are crying hoarse on one side leaving none to chances. When India for Kashmir, why not the Kashmiris for India. Selecting this fist mounds every Indian want to segregate sections from J&K. We need a strong political will to restrain this feeling and to take hard decisions. Otherwise, it will be cancerous in the beautiful face of India. This issue dedicated to the parents who lost their child and nation too….. Best regards Ajit Sinha Editor-in-Chief
July 2017 / Governance Today - 7
Article
SMART TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS to improve
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS
Prof. Satish Chandra Director, CSIR Central Road Research Institute
8 - July 2017 / Governance Today
Dr. E. Madhu Principal Scientist Central Road Research Institute
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A
‘‘Smart Technology’’ The biggest challenge in the transportation industry is identification of suitable technology which is overall effective solution and practically feasible for implementation under Indian conditions. These technologies consider different objectives of transportation such as mobility, safety, reliability, satisfaction, environmental issues, etc.
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s the travel needs of commuters and related traffic on the road network is rapidly growing day by day in urban areas, their ill effects namely traffic congestion, environment pollution and road safety become highly significant causing huge loss to the nation. The country is losing about Rs. 60,000 crore in a year due to traffic congestion only. This estimate is for the fuel waste only and the loss will be exorbitant if value of lost time due to traffic congestion is also considered. Beside this, the impact on environment and illeffects on human health are also significant. Furthermore, almost 160,000 people die and more than 5 lakh people are injured in a year due to road crashes on Indian roads. It is a great loss to the nation (approximately 3% of GDP) apart from social trauma. Though the authorities and policy makers propose many improvement plans related to these, the effective results are not seen on the ground. Hence, it is a high time to step on war footing to effectively and efficiently deal these traffic related issues. In this direction, the innovative technologies and solutions towards intelligent transportation system (ITS) are very essential in addition to traditional methods for the effective and efficient way of tackling the issues. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can offer a series of solutions to manage the travel demands as well as traffic operations on the network through information dissemination to commuter who is more conscious these days because of advancements in the technology. Hence, the concept of using ICT would be the best solution to manage travel demands and traffic circulation especially in urban areas in a realistic manner. India has vehicular population of
about 210 million and it is growing at a rate of about 10 percent. Motorised two-wheelers constitute around 70 percent of total vehicles (MoRTH, 2016). In terms of modal share, about 50% of people use public transport in the urban areas on an average under poor quality of travel conditions. In order to improve the overall travel conditions in the country, the sustainable transportation systems have to be designed according to the needs and expectations of the people. The most sustainable solution for our Indian conditions would be encouraging public transportation system by improving their quality utilizing smart technologies in the area of ICT and discouraging the ownership as well as usage of private transport. The smart technology solutions such as advance public transport systems, advance traveler information systems (ATIS), public transport arrival systems etc. are inevitable in order to improve the efficiency and also to increase the quality of public transport systems. Hence, there is an urgent need to leverage on Smart Technology Solutions to quickly improve efficiency/ capacity of public transportation and to create high quality public transportation system. Recently, India has advanced in many digital technologies, software applications, hardware integration and handling big data activities overcoming limitations that use to be there in the past. Considering this, the digitization or implementation of smart technologies in public transportation system would enhance the quality and improve its efficiency which would eventually attract more patronage leading to overall benefits to society at large. Further India would be in better position by going the way of digitization to fix the public transportation system. Some of the most suitable smart
July 2017 / Governance Today - 9
technologies for public transport for Indian conditions are given below: LED Variable Message Sign (VMS) Boards: Electronic transit status information sign (LED VMS boards) at the bus stops helps passenger know expected time of arrival of bus, bus route on the bus, fare and other real time information. Internet and mobile application: Information dissemination on website allows passenger to choose route information, conform scheduling information, reduce wait time at bus stops etc. Smart Card: Automated fare collection with the help of magnetic strip cards or smart card which is also useful integrating different public transportation system making the possibility for seamless travel. Announcement: Audio announcement at stations and on transit system helps passengers in unfamiliar areas reach their destinations. Advance Public Transport Systems (APTS): This system seeks to apply transportation management and information technologies to public transit systems to increase
10 - July 2017 / Governance Today
their efficiency of operation and improve the safety of public transportation riders. Examples of APTS applications include real-time passenger information systems, automatic vehicle location systems, bus arrival notification systems, and systems providing priority of passage to buses at signalized intersections. Advance Traveler Information Systems (ATIS): The travelers have an increasing desire and need for accurate, timely information to help them decide on their destinations and reach them quickly and safely. Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) can serve this need. This system can consider both pre-trip and en-route information distribution using several existing and evolving communications technologies. However, the biggest challenge in the transportation industry is identification of suitable technology which is overall effective solution and practically feasible for implementation under Indian conditions. These technologies consider different objectives of transportation such as mobility, safety, reliability, satisfaction, environmental issues, etc. Since single technology is not suitable to deal with all the issues, integration
of technologies is essential in order to deal the system as a whole. Subsequently, the coordination among different organizations such as implementation bodies, policy makers, research/ academic institutes, industries etc. is essential for integration of such technologies to implement with an aim to bring the benefits to society. Further, various smart traffic control and management schemes under Indian traffic conditions have been unsuccessful till date in all the cities mainly due to inaccurate data collection by the different data acquisition systems (piezoelectric sensors, infrared based equipments, Image processing based video cameras etc.). This is mainly due to Indian driving behavior and other infrastructure limitations coupled with no coordination among implementation authorities. Though the technologies and other supporting infrastructure is available in the country, the limitations in the data acquisition systems lead to implement ineffective smart traffic control and management systems. These are the greatest challenges in implementation and also integrating the use of shared/ interactive technology in the transportation industry. Recently a research study has been completed at CSIR-CRRI
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under 12th Five Year Plan Project on the assessment of various smart technologies for public transportation systems in terms of their effectiveness in achieving anticipated goals/ benefits and feasibility to implement under Indian conditions. The results emerging out of this project especially on suitability and feasibility of such technologies in the light of different objectives are discussed here very briefly. If the overall efficiency is measured in terms of enhanced mobility, then Advance Traveler Information System (ATIS) may be the best possible ITS technology, but Fleet Management and Monitoring is the most practical feasible solution for Indian condition. If the overall efficiency is seen in terms of Road Safety, then the ATMS may be the best possible ITS technology and the Precision Docking at Station/ Bus stop is the most practical feasible solution for Indian conditions. In case the reducing dwell time at station is considered as overall efficiency, then Advance Traveler Information System (ATIS) may be the best possible ITS technology, while the Real Time Passenger Information is the most practical feasible solution for Indian conditions. Passenger Safety is a key factor and it has to be done with high priority and keenness. Based on research, the technologies in increasing passenger safety namely Surveillance/ CCTV/ Security system may give better results in increasing passenger safety in the background of overall effective
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solution and overall practical solution for Indian condition. When technologies are assessed in terms of increased bus reliability, ATIS seems to give maximum benefits. Passenger Satisfaction will be maximum in case of Real Time Passenger Information system. The sustainable strategies should mainly focus on priority for public transport systems and restrictions for owning and using private transport considering the direction of sustainability (economic, social and environment). Keeping this sustainability concept intact, the innovative ICT needs to be implemented in a holistic way. Then only, the technology can bring any improvement in the transportation arena and overall benefits to the society. The research study at CSIRCRRI revealed that Vehicles Quota System (such as Odd-Even Policy etc.) and increase in taxes on Vehicle Purchase are the most suitable policy options (in terms of relevance and feasibility) for restricting private vehicle ownership. In case of restricting private transport usage policy options, congestion pricing, parking chargers, car pooling etc. can be adopted. Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of surcharging users of public goods that are subject to congestion through excess demand such as higher peak charges for use of certain transport infrastructure/ roads in specific zones to reduce traffic congestion at busy times. This pricing strategy regulates demand, making it possible to manage congestion without increasing supply. For implementation of such policies, smart technologies are essentially required namely, Smart e-number plates with RFID technology to all vehicles registered for “Automatic Vehicle Identification� and Smart roads with RFID receivers fitted at
regular intervals in the Congestion Pricing Zone. The advancements in recent technologies in digital India solutions reached global standards and hence all the above mentioned technologies can be implementable in Indian conditions. However, these technologies should be mainly used for restricting the usage of private transport which in turn should encourage usage of public transport systems for sustainability. In any case the aim is other than this, such technologies are not going to help in improving the overall transport conditions of the Indian cities until this sustainability concept is kept at the background along with it. Government of India initiated Smart Cities project which covers issues like road engineering, signage, vehicle design, education of road users and enforcement of traffic safety services. The Smart Cities project especially with a focus on transport is very much essential to deal with the prevailing problems of the urban areas of India. The available smart technologies discussed above have high potential to improve the travel conditions of urban areas and make the cities smarter. However, the sustainability concept needs to be maintained and considered in holistic manner in adopting the smart technologies with a clear objectives and goals. For the successful and effective implementation of smart technologies for good quality of transportation systems, the disciplined Indian driving behavior and good coordination among implementation authorities have to be considered in the long run which can eliminate limitations in the data acquisition systems for the transportation infrastructure. And at the same time, the clear strategies should be developed for promotion of public transport systems and restrictions for owning and using private vehicles adopting suitable smart technologies.
July 2017 / Governance Today - 11
Article
SMART TRANSPORTATION
A REALITY IN INDIA WITH CHANGING TIMES
12 - July 2017 / Governance Today
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With increasing opportunities, more initiatives have been taken by Government of India and State Governments towards two of the most required trends in the transportation sector – smart fuel vehicles (hybrid & electric) and smart technology (Electronic Stability Programme, Anti-lock braking system, crash testing, smart cards, electronic toll collection, real time parking management, etc.). Though, with India’s current position, there are a few inherent challenges – Inadequate/ inefficient infrastructure, air quality and greenhouse gas emissions and inadequately implemented intelligent transport systems. Slow pace of development will definitely result in time lag to keep pace with other countries on technological advancements and other developments for smart transportation.
T
he need to move people and goods from one location to another has kept auto sales consistently strong year after year. The depth of the Great Recession further created a wider platform for the Original Equipment Manufacturers to gain out of the current low car penetration, rising prosperity and higher affordability of end customer. A total of 599 highway projects covering around 12,903 km of national highways have been sanctioned, incurring an expenditure of Rs 108,000 crore over the next 5 years. Under the Smart Cities Scheme, Government of India has already earmarked Rs 57,393 crore for the project with a proposed budget of Rs 48,000 crore to be utilised for developing first 20
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Smart cities out of 90 such cities selected so far. A major component of the scheme is providing efficient urban mobility and public transport system. India plans to build National Highways, Expressways, Mass Rapid Transport (MRT), Bus Rapid Transport (BRT), pedestrian skywalks, walkways, and cycle tracks, in cities. Government has plans to develop 200 low-cost airports in tier-II and tier-III towns across the country. Plans are also in place to develop 111 river-streams as waterways for coastal shipping to achieve the twin purpose of reducing freight costs and as well as the road congestion. Smart Automobiles Technological advancements are helping manufacturers offer many useful features in automobiles. Today emphasis is on refined engines with high performance, safe design, sustainable/green fuels,
adherence to latest emission norms (Bharat Stage (BS) IV in India, Euro VI Standard worldwide), connected cars/IoT, wearable devices, driverless vehicles, and fuel efficiency. Vehicle technologies today, auto technology on sale allows cars to “see” all around, gathering data on possible roadway concerns and giving drivers eyes in the back of their heads. Since most of the crashes involve driver error, automakers created a range of safety systems that aid drivers for brief periods to help avoid accidents. Driver assist systems include lane departure and blind spot warnings, adaptive cruise control, automatic braking, telematics control systems and more. Few of the technological advancements made in India include – Anti-lock braking system & Electronic Stability Programme With a study showing how Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) can save
July 2017 / Governance Today - 13
up to 10,000 lives in India and how ABS can play a major part in avoiding most accidents, OEMs and electronic giants in India are on the forefront of the movement asking for these safety systems to be offered as compulsory and standard equipment on all passenger cars in India. A leading auto component giant in India has also conducted a specific research on how ESP in India could help reduce accidents and the preliminary results are quite startling. Based on the same study, it is claimed that up to 70 percent of accidents that involve a vehicle skidding could be eliminated with ESP saving upwards of 10000 lives in India every year. As per the study, currently, nearly 40 percent of all new cars made in India come with ABS fitted. Whereas only about 4-5 percent of all new cars come with ESP. If automotive manufacturers are serious about road safety, this figure needs to go up drastically in the next few years. Co-incidentally, ABS has already been made compulsory in commercial vehicles from September 1, 2015 with an announcement for ABS in two wheelers over a certain cubic capacity expected any day now. Automated Manual Transmission - The electronic transmission control unit helps in engaging and disengaging the clutch and gear through an electronic actuator. It also has a sports mode, which enables drivers to move to the manual shifting of gear to increase
and decrease the gear ratios with plus and minus either through gear knob /joystick or the steering. Crash Testing - The Government of India is finally enforcing stringent crash test norms to be mandatory for all new cars from October 2017, while for upgrades of existing models, the deadline will be October 2018. New minimum safety norms, including frontal and side crash tests, will apply to all cars —entry level, small and cheaper models. As per the new order by Government, cars would be tested for frontal crash norms at 56 kmph, while for the side crash test, it will be at 50 kmph. Automation & Traceability – Global leaders in the field of automation and electronic components in automotive industry have come up with a wide gamut of solutions in safety components, automation, auto sensors, etc. Automation is now selectively customised and can trace the genesis of the error. Electrical vehicles As per a study by the Center of Automotive Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, the worldwide trend for light-vehicle production is a gradual shift towards hybrid and electric vehicles. By 2030, 56 percent vehicles produced would use combustion engines, 35 percent hybrid technologies and 9% electric power. Which means a whopping 44 percent of small vehicles would not use a combustion engine to produce energy to run the vehicle.
This would reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions to a significant level. 100% battery-driven electrical vehicles (EVs) are the ultimate goal of the vehicle alternative powertrain development over the next 12-15 years. The focus is towards fuel efficiency and reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. Hence electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles (dual fuel) and fuel cell vehicles seem to be the future of vehicle technology. In India dual-fuel vehicles running on petrol/diesel and CNG are becoming popular. In the electric vehicle segment, brands like Mahindra, Toyota and BMW have created a presence in Indian market. Indian Government has developed a National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 which proposes to incentivise adoption of green vehicles and facilitate domestic manufacturing capability in automobile sector. As part of the Foreign Trade Policy, Government is providing subsidy in the form of exemption of duties on parts of green vehicles. The Indian market for electric vehicles is still nascent as the challenge is to augment charging infrastructure in big cities immediately to promote migration to electric vehicles. It has been projected that electric vehicles could account for close to 5 percent of the Indian car market, or 175,000 cars, by 2017, while the global market for the vehicles could reach about 20 million cars by 2020. Considering the slow pace of infrastructural development in India, we still have a long way to catch up with the global standards and technologies. Connected cars/Internet of things (IoT) Connected cars provide seamless connectivity between different electronic systems such as infotainment, control systems, safety features and navigation features through internet within the car as well as with outside
14 - July 2017 / Governance Today
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systems more known as Internet of Things (IoT) technology. In the near future, mobile or wearable devices would be communicating with the electronic systems of the car through the internet. This concept is known as V2X connectivity (Vehicle to Vehicle or V2V and Vehicle to Infrastructure or V2I). It would be imperative to design such systems with an inbuilt security for safety of user data throughout its access and processing. Connected cars technology would encourage collaborations between manufacturers of electronic devices used in cars, mobile devices, wearable devices, IT systems integrators as well as ISPs. The potential is huge and offers interesting possibilities as internet connected cars are on a rise. Smart fuels and better emission standards Due to rapid urbanisation, there is an increase in Green House Gas (GHG) emissions contributing to an expanding carbon footprint and forcing the need for adoption of a
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clean and sustainable technology. As a step to control these emissions, the Supreme Court banned the sale of vehicles with diesel engines of 2,000 cc capacity and more in Delhi NCR. As per estimates from EPCA (Environment Protection and Conservation Authority) reports, during this period, 7,000 to 30,000 vehicles had been diverted away from the city, resulting in a 19-20% fall in pollution levels. However, it has also left manufacturers and dealers with unsold inventory levels and uncertainty in the market. This has resulted in opportunity loss as well as job loss at dealers. Alternative fuels Bio-fuels, ethanol, and compressed natural gas (CNG) are clean fuels. Besides these, electric and solar powered vehicles are also being promoted. Vehicles running on hydrogen as fuel and using fuel cell technology are also a clean option. CNG has already become a popular fuel in India due to its low cost. However, it needs infrastructure support in terms of more number of fuelling stations and accessibility. Biodiesel is
another alternate fuel with diesel like qualities. It is synthesized through simple chemical reaction of alcohols with vegetable oils. In India, oil from Jatropha and Karanjia seeds is used to produce biodiesel. Emission standards India follows Bharat Stage (BS) emission standards. The emission standards are instituted by the Government of India to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles. These are based on the European standards and are regularly upgraded following the European standards.The Second Auto Fuel Vision and Policy 2025 notified by Government of India in May 2014 lays the map for fuel emission norms up to 2025. In order to adopt the latest emission standards, Government of India has decided to completely skip BS V norms and has announced to adopt and implement BS VI norms from April 2020. On comparison with other countries, Euro 6 (equivalent to BS VI) has already been implemented in Europe effective
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2014. Therefore, besides vehicular technologies and emission norms, other two important factors to be considered in India for reducing carbon emission are periodic inspection, maintenance of in-use vehicles and better road and traffic management. Smart physical infrastructure India has the second largest road network, fourth largest rail network and ninth largest civil aviation market in the world. The sea port network is also impressive with 13 major ports and 187 minor/ intermediate ports. Ten years ago, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) established the base for smart infrastructure development in the country. Its next phase is the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) launched
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by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in June 2015. It aims to provide holistic urban infrastructure services such as water supply, sewerage, urban transport and building of amenities in cities to improve quality of life. This is to be implemented over the next five years. Under AMRUT, states will also invest an equal share for the development of urban infrastructure. At the central level, a strict incentive-based approach and release of funds will be followed if the states meet the targets set for the projects. Smart infrastructure includes development of expressways, highways, waterways and improved and efficient sea and air ports. However, the emphasis will be on surface and water transportation as these two are more cost effective means. Major economic activity is generated through freight transportation. In
India, the roads remain the primary infrastructure for freight movement (65 percent of freight moves through roads). Besides heavy investment to the tune of around Rs 1,00,000 crore over the next five years in large scale infrastructure development for urban mobility, the government is also building infrastructure to promote non-motorised transport (NMT) such as bicycles, cycle rickshaws and pedestrian walkways for city traffic. Road transport Ministry for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways has a target to achieve 2 percent of country’s GDP through transportation sector and creating 15 lakh jobs. Ministry has also set a target of constructing 30 km of roads per day. Total length of national highways would be increased from 96,000 km to 1.5
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lakh km. Besides national Highways, state highways and rural roads will also be improved and increased at length. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) will augment the road infrastructure in the rural part of India. Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) have been envisaged to augment rail and road networks. High speed rail programs have been successful in Japan, China and several European countries such as France, Germany and Spain. The High Speed Rail Corporation (HSRC) of India was set up by the government in 2012 to design and implement the country’s high speed projects. Through this, feasibility studies for various segments of the ‘Diamond Quadrilateral’, a proposed high speed network spanning the country, connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, were initiated. Simultaneously, the government has pushed ahead with plans to develop a segment between Ahmedabad and Mumbai on which it will run “bullet” trains, as high speed trains are often called. According to United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the High Speed Rail solution is also cleaner; CO2 emissions in 2050 are also likely to come down and further emission drops are possible with decarbonisation of electricity. In general, per passenger km, high speed rail has lower Green House Gas (GHG) emissions than road or air transport. It also supports lower emissions over the longer term as road and air passengers shift to trains. However, as the UNEP-DTU (Technical University of Denmark) study says, there is currently a debate on the impact on short term emissions, which may be high owing to embedded emissions (in the construction and manufacturing process). (ITS) Intelligent Transport Systems
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Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) involves a number of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) interventions used for efficiently managing transportation. Major areas in ITS are: Passenger information systems: These systems provide real time information to passengers using a public transport system. Usually the expected time of arrival (ETA) is displayed on electronic sign boards at the bus stands, MRT platforms or the Airports and Railway stations. Such systems also sometimes provide information on personal mobile devices for example in the aviation industry and Indian Railways. This reduces the uncertainty about ETA and eases the congestion at waiting areas. Real-time parking management systems: also provide the information related to available parking lots through a publically displayed electronic sign board. This facility is useful for the staff of parking lots as well as the endusers. Multi level parking benefits with minimal land use, easy entry and exit, multi sensors and safety devices offers low operating and maintenance expenses. Smart cards: Out of the above technologies, smart cards usage has already started in India especially within the MRTs network. Smart integrated cards are under consideration by Delhi and other State Governments. Smart Integrated cards allow citizens to pay for any type of public transportation through single smart card, ushering into seamless multimodal transportation systems in large cities. Electronic toll collection systems and automated parking management systems have been installed in Delhi at few locations and in some more cities.
The need is for large scale adoption of such smart technologies to improve public transportation in India. This will open up large-scale opportunities for the semiconductor industry. Electronic toll collection systems: These are RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) based systems that read from a distance and automatically deduct the toll at each entry. This technology saves queue-time and fuel cost at the toll gates. It also results in better traffic management by reducing congestion. In India, MumbaiPune Highway has this facility and more such electronic toll collection centers are being installed at Gujarat SEZs. This technology will give a boost to industries manufacturing RFID devices, semiconductor chips, and related IT systems. Smart parking assist: A latest development in vehicles technology is the use of sensors. The chassis and the driveline are also equipped with sensors and cameras that help in parking. Being a useful technology for inexperienced drivers and learners, the technology increases safety, efficiency and comfort in driving and parking. Automated Speed Enforcement: The new generation automated speed program is very well implemented in other countries. However, in India it is yet to be effectively enforced. With the congestion and heavy traffic on roads, it is all the more crucial to benefit from the features such as automated red light, auto traffic management, maximum detection range, multiple car tailgating, etc. Airport Surveillance & Safety Equipment: It has been an urgent need to revamp the security at airports not only to thwart any
July 2017 / Governance Today - 17
misadventure but also to restore confidence of traveling public in the security of air travel as a whole, which was shaken after 9/11 tragedy. With this in view, a number of steps were taken at Indian airports including deployment of CISF for airport security, CCTV surveillance system at sensitive airports, latest and stateof-the-art X-ray baggage inspection systems, premier security and surveillance systems, Smart Cards for access control to vital installations to supplement the efforts of security personnel at sensitive airports. Radio Frequency Identification (Rfid) In Freight Transportation: Though RFID is not a new technology, however, India has been slow in developing and using the technology. With the growing Indian economy, manufacturing and exports have substantially risen and logistics as a function is being increasingly outsourced by manufacturers. However, the Indian logistics sector in many ways still lags the global standards. As per International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, India is ranked as low as 46th among 155 countries in the World Bank International Logistics Performance Index. Government’s holistic approach towards logistics sector India has firmed up the contours of its ambitious multi-modal programme to reduce logistics costs and make the economy competitive. The strategy involves a reset of India’s logistics sector from a “pointto-point” model to a “hub-andspoke” model and involves railways, highways, inland waterways and airports to put in place an effective transportation grid. This includes setting up 35 multi-modal logistics parks at an investment of Rs50,000 crore, development of 50 economic
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corridors and an investment template which involves roping in the states and the private sector for setting up special vehicles for implementation. Union Minister for road transport and highways, shipping and ports said that it is for the first time that his ministry has taken an integrated approach for the country’s transportation. This will increase India’s exports, provide employment opportunities, will be cost effective, and will make goods cheaper in the country. Sites for the proposed 35 logistics parks have been identified and they will be set up on railways, highways, inland waterways and airports transportation grid. Fifteen such logistics parks will be constructed in the next five years, and 20 more over the next 10 years. They will act as hubs for freight movement enabling freight aggregation and distribution with modern mechanized warehousing space. Outlook India is poised for impressive economic growth with economy growing at 7.4 percent compared to shrinking western economies. India has emerged as most preferred investment destination in the world. This is backed by a 550 million young human capital base and strong policy environment. Greener technologies and India as a manufacturing hub provides opportunities for collaboration between auto manufacturers and subsidiary industries to reduce cost and improve quality. The central government has already awarded projects worth Rs 1.8 Lakh crore in
last two years for road construction projects and it was pegged at worth Rs 3 Lakh crore by 2017. These developments have made the conditions just ripe for a giant leap in the transportation industry in India. In the next decade, India will reduce carbon emission from vehicular sources, create huge job opportunities in transport and automotive industry and develop a sustainable and smart transportation system for its growing economic and public mobility requirements. The investments in surface transportation projects will create a world class transportation infrastructure; bring best vehicle technologies, sustainable choices and intelligent transportation system in India. The day is not far when India will showcase its transportation sector to the world. Sustainable choices for public transport coupled with greener fuels will greatly enhance the quality of life for the citizens and give a push to the economic activity in the long term.
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Cover Story
STATUS & PROSPECTS OF URBAN TRANSPORTATION VIS-A-VIS DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
20 - July 2017 / Governance Today
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The need for transporting people and goods in an urban environment has historically manifested itself in the evolution of new and faster means of travel. The changes brought out in the urban transportation systems, owing to changing mobility needs, can at best be categorised as mixed whereby accessibility levels have generally increased but, alongside it, the problems of rising costs (to both users and service providers) have also grown. Further, these issues have created a scenario where the elderly, women, children, differently-abled and the poor, are excluded in the city’s progress in mobility; they, in fact, face restrictions on their movement.
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T
he demand for mobility is getting increasingly dynamic and heterogeneous, riding on a wave of the changing demographic and socio-economic profile of urbanites. As economic prosperity manifests in higher consumer power, the demand for accessible and reliable transport facilities is also getting pushed up. Past studies conducted by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), Government of India (GoI) on mobility characteristics across different types of cities have indicated growing transport demand levels and declining public transport and non-motorised transport shares in the total demand, especially for medium- to large-size cities. The supply for fast-paced growth in transport demand, assisted by growing motorisation levels and socio-economic developments, has been hampered by the absence of a corresponding transport network and systems capacity expansion in urban areas. It may be noted that the gaps in supply have been both quantitative and qualitative. Irritants in Transportation Other worrisome areas include sub-optimal utilisation of available resources in the form of transportation networks, transport vehicles and systems, and manpower. The intensity of utilisation-per-Vehicle-Kilometer travelled in urban areas can be gauged from Passenger Kilometer travelled per Vehicle Kilometer travelled in a city. The bigger the value of this utilisation ratio, the higher the economic, environmental and social sustainability, as more passenger kilometers are served per vehicle kilometer operated. Passenger kilometer served can be identified with mobility
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demand satisfied, while Vehicle kilometer travelled denotes transport service supply. Consequently, the congestion levels have been on the rise, with average speeds coming down, resulting in longer delays and therefore, losses of productivity and higher fuel consumption. Transport networks play an important role in overall logistics of meeting the transport demand and supply. The flaws of transport network performance affect efficient throughput and constrains the overall efficiency of logistics to meet perpetual gaps between demand and supply. Despite continuous process of transport sector advancements and public support, the demand and supply gaps for safer, economical and environmentally sustainable urban transport system still persist and an ideal system (even closer) remains elusive. The problem worsens due to the presence of multiple players and stakeholders (transport sector decisions generally have significant impacts, as transport industry is one of the major employment generator and contributor to Gross Domestic Product (GDP)) as well as due to long gestation period of cost intensive transport investments Under these circumstances, the current policy focus of how much faster we can move people and goods in urban areas needs to be replaced with a new one: how efficiently these can be moved. The mantra therefore has to be: Increase passenger/ tonnage throughput per vehicle kilometer (km) operated and if possible,
simultaneously, reduces vehicle kms of travel. Transport demand management measures offer means of maximising the utilisation of transport. With the formulation of National Urban Transport Policy by Government of India, the policy and planning focus had shifted towards increasing the attractiveness of public and non-motorised transport modes with the objective to move people out of personal motor vehicles. The underlying philosophy was to reduce vehicular traffic in the process of meeting ever increasing transport demand. Substantial investments have been made in the development of good public transport infrastructure. The efforts have seen fast rising patronage levels for comfortable and safe public transport systems such as the Delhi Metro. Similarly, the recent Delhi experiment in car usage restrictions on a particular day, depending upon Odd-Even registration number, was found surprisingly acceptable and did manage to reduce traffic congestion and vehicle km travelled as people then used public transport, or else carpooled and managed their transport demand, during the implementation period. These initiatives show immense potential and system acceptability towards the need for good public transport as well as demand managementbased initiatives in the urban transport sector. With past experiences of abysmal security (be it public transport, contracted school or office transport services, hired taxi services, and even those offered by demand aggregators in recent times),
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The analysts opined that the future of road and train transportation and logistics, they determined that three main changes needed to be put in place to effect positive and efficient improvements, these were, digitisation, flexible management and use of technology. They state that, “… transportation sector, too, increasing interconnectedness and digitisation offers new opportunities and solutions to tackle growing traffic flows.”
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safety and universal accessibility have become one of the major concerns of transport regulators and managers. The fear of security in transport systems has not deterred vulnerable users from participating in economic activities but it has certainly influenced travel choices to meet mobility needs. In most cases, such choices culminate in the use of a private car, which has become the epitome of personal mobility and safety in a city where public transport means are facing severe challenges. The above issues need considerations in transport planning and solutions development, not only from the regional and national perspectives but also from that of global policy framework. Rapid urbanisation, changing demographic and socio-economic profile, the threats of climate change and fossil fuel extinction are all driving next-generation global policy and strategy framework of urban transportation. Such a policy should encourage and direct for (1) enhancement of transport system performance, and (2) development of people-centric attitude. The policy framework will need to be interdisciplinary, integrated, dynamic, flexible, and sustainable. The transport demand management and minimisation of vehicle km should be at the forefront of such policy. Further, such a transport system will need to be accessed from the remotest of locations and must prove economical for the poorest, considering the diversity and magnitude of users across Indian cities. From the user perspective, the bigger the vehicle, the cheaper, sustainable and less accessible it is; and the smaller the vehicle, the costlier, less sustainable and more accessible it will be. Moreover, heavy dependence for high accessibility on smaller vehicles can worsen already congested transport network, alongside ever rising demand for parking spaces, circulation areas, and depleting fossil fuel. A transportation system
combining the utilities of bigger to smaller modes could be the key towards resolving seemingly intractable transportation problem of Indian cities. The integration of bigger to smaller vehicle transport systems could be a potential model of a seamless, integrated and sustainable transport solution of urban mobility. The public transport services can be brought closer to convenience and comfort of private transport, and vice versa, where private modes can be utilised for public service. A case of integration and sharing of modes across users or owners, makes sense to satisfy overall mobility needs and maximise utilisation of resources. This integration will have to be driven and guided by emerging technology advancements, among various other measures. Digitalisation of Transport and Logistics Digitalisation is cutting across all layers of society. We have an expectation that virtually every action we take now has a digital approach and transport and logistics has not escaped this. Digitalising transport services, if done well, can improve the efficiency, create better experiences for customers and ultimately increase profitability of an integrated transport infrastructure. The transportation industry, like many others, is under pressure to improve cost efficiency. A recent report by transport and logistics, analysts say that in a ten-year study, the companies’ involved showed increased revenue, yet reduced profits. As analysts suggesting that to improve the situation logistics and transport companies should focus on, “standardising and streamlining structures and processes, developing industry oriented and innovative solutions, thinking and acting in terms of networks” And digitization is also being driven by consumer needs. Consumers are pushing the boundaries using ‘collaborative
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consumption’ to envision new models of transport, including app initiated car sharing and personal car rental. So, in transport, digitalisation can significantly improve traffic and transport management through more accurate information on traffic and infrastructure conditions and on the location of vehicles and/or goods. Better access to and sharing of digital transport (traffic, travel, vehicle, cargo etc.) data for both public and private stakeholders along the supply chain can foster seamless information flows, and open up a wide range of new business opportunities: Shippers would benefit from better information on available transport services. Factories would have information on goods arrival time to optimise their inventory management and production. Logistics service providers would be able to optimise transport operations in real-time and to react to unexpected events. Public authorities could benefit from more accurate and reliable information on infrastructure use and cargo, thereby contributing to better efficiency and operational safety of networks. The development of information pipelines along the TEN-T Corridors would enable continuity and integration of services as well as facilitate administrative
requirements through one stop shops and easy access and sharing of data. The Potential of Disruptive Technology In recent times, web-based banking, commerce and shopping applications have gained tremendous popularity with the expansion of their user base, riding on the wave of internet and mobile-based technological revolution of the last decade. Taking cues from these, other technological interventions utilising smartphones, mobile networking, cloud computing, and GPS, have enabled user-centric application developments in the arena of urban mobility. These applications have predominantly focused on the online hiring of cab services, route guidance, travel guidance, real-time vehicle location and arrival prediction, incident management, and real-time traffic signal synchronisation. Riding on such technology wave, a number of transport demand aggregators have recently sprung up, whereby demand aggregation and its commoditisation is taken up which can then be ordered by the user and managed by the service provider. Such mobility services belong to the area of Shared Mobility originating from shifting worldwide focus towards Shared Economy where the basic mantra is: Access not Ownership. This new
philosophy and way of dealing with urban transportation may require grassroots level changes in the way supply of transport services is presently planned. Disruptive technologies are the
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root enabler of shared economy business, whereby the usual means of supply and consumption of transport commodity have slated to undergo changes. The disruptive technologies typically offer benefits for being simpler, more convenient, and less expensive products that appeal to new or less-demanding customers. Once the disruptive product gains a foothold in new or low-end markets, the improvement cycle begins. And because the pace of technological progress outstrips customers’ abilities to use it, the previously not good-enough technology eventually improves enough to intersect with the needs of more demanding customers. When that happens, the disruptive practices are on a path that will ultimately crush the incumbent practices. The prevalent vehicle-based mobility has been guided by automobile and oil and gas industries and is increasingly considered unsustainable for future urban mobility solutions. This new mobility paradigm is being pushed by the real estate sector, along with IT and telecommunications and tourism industries on one hand, and climate change restraint goals and new fuel technology agents, on the other. The impact of technologydriven, shared economy in transport sector has been the subject of extensive research in many developed countries. These studies have shown a decline in car usage, purchase of cars, and increased usage of public transport and nonmotorised transport modes. There has also been space for the growth of different carsharing models, varying from traditional to new-age models: P2P sharing (shared use of private vehicle typically managed by third party), and Fractional Ownership Car sharing (individuals sublease or subscribe to a vehicle owned by a third party). Recently, real-time bikesharing and ride-sharing services have also come up as alternate means of shared mobility, shaping up the growth of the ‘shared car’
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market. Behind the real-time ride-sharing or carpool service design, a set of grinding logistical and management procedures are laid out to maximise the feeling of convenience and safety during travel. Adding to above applications, the emergence of Autonomous, Fuel cell, Electric and Connected vehicles; tremendous opportunities and choices for urban mobility could be made available to a large section of society. These evidence of emerging technology interventions on urban mobility choices and consumption, signify a growing market for demand responsive transport. Such demand responsive services, when integrated with public and mass transport services (road-and rail-based), could potentially fill in the current void of last-mile connectivity, while providing alternative travel choices for less accessible locations. The landscape of urban transportation could get further transformed through the integration of shared mobility systems with various traffic operations based applications such as Real time traffic
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management, Travel planning and Guidance, Road user charging, Incentives/penalties, and Real time travel information, with Integrated fares and Multimodal transport solutions. This integration across different sub-systems of urban transportation will not only provide seamless and sustainable urban transport solutions but can also generate a wealth of knowledge base for planners, policymakers, managers and executives. The information, thus generated and systematically recorded over time, can assist in formulating daily (and even hourly) action plans under an overall transportation strategy, guided by the global, national and local policies. The above will be a truly integrated and managed door-to-door transport service that can (1) satisfy demand for reliable, accessible, safe and flexible transport system for a user; (2) offer large operational efficiencies and opportunity for targeting products and services, to where they best add value and generate revenue for the service provider; and (3) enable
efficient utilisation of resources with reduced emissions and improved safety. India can potentially take up a large part of this shared economy business simply on account of numbers and an ongoing, fast penetration of e-literacy. The shared mobility is already experienced in India through various formal and informal ways such as contract carriage bus services (for school and office transport), hailing a taxi/auto rickshaw/cycle rickshaw; and fixed route and schedule bus services. However, these have yet to be supported by technology, and their full potential therefore has not been realised. It may also be noted that many of the systemic and user centric applications have already entered the transport space of Indian cities. The online carpool market has recently seen startup ventures in metropolitan cities of India. For example, MeBuddie, RidingO, PoolCircle, and CarPoolAdda, have come up in this space. The entry of global players like Brazilian Tripda and French BlaBlaCar is also seen as a validation
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that the Indian market is ready for carpooling. Tripda is even looking at acquiring smaller carpooling companies to scale up their business in India. Other innovative and localised mobility solutions of motorbike hiring and auto rickshaw hiring by Ola have been launched and user response has been encouraging. Uber, as a taxi aggregator service provider, is working on shaping up the Peer to Peer car sharing option to utilise existing car space availability in cities. This could potentially reduce growth in vehicle registration and vehicle mileage provided safety 6 and security of both drivers and riders from untoward incidents are ensured. Another innovative map-based application has been developed, named Safetipin, for informing the users on the safety index of an unfamiliar route. Bus aggregator is one of the innovative mobility solutions being developed, under Smart Cities Mission of the Government of India. With advancements of emerging technology applications in designing
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urban mobility solutions, serious security concerns have been taken care of, albeit partly, whereby every rider can link a security profile, like LinkedIn or Facebook, with verifications using company employee IDs, for instance. Adding into the user friendliness attributes, Google Inc. now plans to integrate taxi or car aggregator services on Google maps to inform and guide the traveler for alternatives beyond car, bus and metro service operations. Even with the above advancement show ever significant and encouraging nowhere has there been a systematic attempt to forge an integrated application of emerging technologies to fill and manage transport demand and supply gaps in India. The absence of integration among technologydriven solutions into classified data platforms, could negatively affect reliability and dependability of information generated, and ultimately, their utilisation across stakeholders and knowledge seekers over time as each of the systems scale up. This is unfortunate, given that
there is immense potential of developing a policy framework now supported by technology given the awareness and acceptability of government, users, service providers, policymakers and regulators, on one hand, and this intersecting with a significant degree of readiness and maturity in the technology sector Way Forward The disruption to present mobility management scenario, through emerging technology interventions, is proposed by way of potential personalisation of public transport services. This new mobility scenario one of seamless integration cannot be successful unless these digital age transportation systems are massively networked, User centered, Integrated, Dynamically priced and Reliant on newer 8 models of public-private partnership. A comprehensive and strong planning support is needed to understand how this interaction will develop and thereby control the process for (1) extracting their maximum potential, and (2) minimising the
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negative outcomes that may arise. As research is presently underway in the West along similar lines, there is an imperative to develop a clearer understanding based on India’s peculiar experiences and local needs. With Government of India’s ambitious plans of taking long strides in areas of renewable energy, universal electricity access, and internet penetration alongside globally growing market of smartphones and connected vehicle technology, data mining capabilities, and other innovations the impact of new technologies on urban transport could be substantive. However, it will be necessary to understand how this transformation can affect existing systems in India’s context, as is also being researched globally. For example, research on car-sharing systems has indicated that sharing services are popular among the young, well educated, upwardly mobile, urbanites. Consequently, more understanding is envisioned to understand how to scale shared mobility models to other populations and land use. More extensive research will
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lead to better understanding and enable a thorough assessment of the magnitude of new-age urban mobility scenario as driven by disruptive or emerging technology innovations. The research will then support the development of strategies and measures to satisfy the same in a most sustainable manner. It may not take long before these technologies change the very way people think, order, and experience transportation as a user, provider, regulator and manager. The Indian government’s ‘Smart Cities’ mission has a number of smart mobility and accessibility initiatives adopted for various cities. The proposed multi-modal integration solution would ensure pulling smaller and bigger vehicles together to enable provisioning a privatised public transport service accessible to the poorest and remotest of locations of an urban area. Safety, Security, Regulation and Private sector participation will be important areas of integration in the service and product design of new-age mobility and digital transportation solutions. The
regulation of transport service providers would need to focus on the nature of service provided, for example, to differentiate between asset generator and asset aggregator, while ensuring accountability and traceability for all. Mechanisms like carpooling, taxi sharing, as well as demand aggregator services, can prove to be sustainable options from both safety and mobility perspectives, provided adequate regulations are mandated. Under present context global as well as national climate change goals, the future of urban transportation will become more inter-disciplinary with urban planning, social and environmental sciences, engineering, technology, user behaviour and financing and economics play respective roles in preparing a framework of overall new-age urban transport system. The challenge for policymakers is to make sure they fully understand all sides of the technologies coming forward and make their own assessments based on hard evidence and structured analyses.
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GOVERNANCE WATCH
Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Sign USD 275 Million Loan for Upgrading Urban Services in 64 Small Towns in Madhya Pradesh The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a USD 275 million loan for improving urban services in 64 small towns in the State of Madhya Pradesh. The signatories to the loan agreement for the Madhya Pradesh Urban Service Improvement Project included Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Multilateral Institutions, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, who signed on behalf of the Government of India, and L B Sondjaja, Deputy Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, who signed for ADB. The project agreement was signed by Vivek Aggarwal, Secretary, Urban Development & Housing Department on behalf of the Government of Madhya Pradesh. “Madhya Pradesh needs substantial investments to keep pace with rapid urbanization. Availability of continuous piped water supply is vital for improving the urban infrastructure, and it will facilitate improved access to safe drinking water for residents in the project area”, said Mr Raj Kumar.
Survey of India strives to keep India among the best surveyed countries in the World Union Minister of Communications, Manoj Sinha said that Survey of India has met the challenges of surveying the indomitable Himalaya, blazing deserts and animal infested jungles. The Department is continuously striving to keep abreast of modern technology and has successfully entered the era of Digital Mapping and Geographic Information Systems. Mr Sinha was speaking here after releasing a set of two commemorative postage stamps and a miniature sheet on “Survey of India” on the occasion of its 250th anniversary. The minister said that the Survey of India, fondly called ‘the Department’ by its members is built on solid foundations, strong traditions and deep roots, keeps striving to keep India among the best surveyed countries in the world, adopting the latest technologies to meet new challenges and always living up to its motto: A Setu Himachalam i.e. ‘From Setu to the Himalaya’ (covering entire India).
Government takes measures to keep a check on unusual increase in C-Section surgeries reported in recent years The Government has taken several steps to ensure that the unwarranted increase in C-Section surgeries can be kept in check. The Minister of Women and Child Development, Mrs Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, had expressed concern to the Union Health Minister in February 2017 about the unusual increase in recent years in C-Section surgeries reported from different States. Smt. Gandhi had pointed out that while the recommendation of WHO suggests that deliveries through C-Section should normally be in the range of 10-15 percent of the total deliveries; some States are reporting extremely high percentages. Tamil Nadu reported this to be 34 percent and Telangana 54 percent. She had further stated that it is worrisome that the percentage was even higher for the private nursing homes across the States.
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Record production of food grains in 2016-17 Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Radha Mohan Singh said only through cross-pollination of expertise and innovations and thereafter synergy during implementation of the programmes conceived we would be able to achieve the goal set for the country by Prime Minister, through his farsightedness, of doubling farmers’ income by 2022. Mr Singh said as per the Third Advance Estimates food grain production in the country has increased to 273 MT in 2016-17, oil seeds to 32.5 MT, and sugarcane to 306 MT. Fruits & Vegetable production has increased to 287 MTs, according to the Second Advance Estimate. He said that there has been a record production of food grains in 2016-17 and all previous records were broken. The minister said farmers have not been getting the corresponding increase in remuneration. The Government is seized of the urgent requirement of strengthening market systems to reduce post-harvest losses to enable farmers to tide over both situations of bumper production leading to a glut and abrupt price fall and incidences of less production resulting in the availability of meagre marketable surplus. Mr Singh further said that the approach adopted encompasses both adoptions of cost effective production and diversifying agriculture towards growing of high-value crops, agro-forestry, rearing of livestock, poultry, fisheries, etc, as well as creating accessible and efficient markets to ensure better price realisation to the farmers through a robust value supply chain. We empathise with the farmers and for that purpose have formulated farmer welfare centric programs and policies, which is equally related to food security and price security.
Centre Grants Approval for Airport at Jewar in Greater Noida The Government has granted in-principle approval for a greenfield airport at Jewar in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh in view of the rapidly growing flying requirements of the NCR region . Minister for Civil Aviation P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju said that the air traffic in the NCR region is growing very fast. From the current level of 62 million passengers per annum (MPPA), it is expected to reach upto 91 MPPA by 2020 and 109 MPPA by 2024, which would be the saturation point for the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. So Delhi will require a second airport in the next 7-10 years. The minister said that the Government of Uttar Pradesh had submitted a proposal for construction of a new Greenfield International Airport at Jewar in Greater Noida, and the Ministry of Civil Aviation has accorded in principle approval for the project based on the recommendations of the Steering Committee on Greenfield Airports, headed by the Secretary (CA).
Government constitutes a committee to prepare the final draft of National Education Policy The 8-member committee for preparation of final draft of National Education Policy has been constituted under the Chairmanship of eminent Scientist Dr K. Kasturirangan. The council will start its work from immediate effect. In an exhaustive democratic exercise carried for last 30 months the HRD ministry has received thousands of suggestions from, educationists, teachers, experts, students and other stakeholders from across the country. Consultations were held at Tehsil, district and state level. Regional conferences were organized where state governments have given their detailed opinion. Rajya Sabha debated the issues and a special education dialogue was organized in which 48 MPs from all parties participated.
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6th Joint Trade Committee Meeting between India and Myanmar The 6th India – Myanmar Joint Trade Committee (JTC) Meeting co-chaired by Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Commerce & Industry from India and Dr. Than Myint, Union Commerce Minister from Myanmar was held recently at New Delhi. The Joint Trade Committee plays a key role in facilitating issues related to enhancement of the bilateral economic partnership between the two countries. Addressing the meeting The Minister stated that both countries have long history of shared religious, linguistic and ethnic ties. Myanmar is India’s gateway to South East Asia and ASEAN with which India is seeking greater economic integration through ‘Act East’ Policy. Myanmar shares a long land border of over 1600 Kms with India as well as a maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. Our bilateral relationship has been further strengthened by the high level exchanges between our countries. Prime Minister of India visited Myanmar in November 2014 for the Twelfth India-ASEAN Summit. State counsellor of Myanmar visited India in October 2016 Stating that Trade and Commerce play a significant role in the bilateral relationship of the two countries, Smt. Sitharaman noted that India’s trade with Myanmar grew by 6.01 percent from USD 2.05 bn in 2015 -16 to USD 2.18 bn in 2016-17. The total export achieved in 2016-17 was 1.11 USD Billion, reflecting an annual growth of 3.79 percent. The import stood at 1.06 USD Billion showing a growth of 8.43 percent.
Cabinet approves signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between India and the United States of America on Homeland Security The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi approved signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between India and the United States of America on Homeland Security. The Memorandum of Cooperation will further strengthen bilateral security relations between India and the USA and will also help in coordination and interactions among the six Sub-Groups that are proposed to be formed under Homeland Security Dialogue between the two countries.
Uttarakhand and Haryana declared 4th and 5th ODF States in the country Under the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G), rural Uttarakhand and rural Haryana have declared themselves as the 4th and 5th Open Defecation Free (ODF) States of India. The two joined the league of Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala, which were the first three states to be declared ODF. Nationally, the sanitation coverage has increased from 42% to over 64% in just two and a half years since the launch of SBM. Uttarakhand has 13 districts, 95 blocks, 7256 gram panchayats and 15751 villages while Haryana has 21 districts, 124 blocks,
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Cabinet approves MoU between India and Israel on National Campaign for Water Conservation in India The Union Cabinet in its meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi approved signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Israel on National Campaign for Water Conservation in India. This will benefit the country in conserving water for future generations. The two countries shall work to enhance cooperation at the national, regional and international level to design, implement and monitor a professionally-designed National Water Conservation campaign in India. The Ministries agree to jointly work on the water conservation campaign to achieve the following objectives: a. Put water conservation on the national agenda in India b. Encouraging every citizen to save water in everyday life c. Generating awareness about water d. Promoting Re-use, Recharge and Recycling of water e. Development of digital tools such as websites, mobile applications on the subject of water conservation.
Cabinet approves Amendment of the Social Security Agreement between India and the Netherlands The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has approved Amendment of the bilateral Social Security Agreement (SSA) between India and the Netherlands by incorporating the “Country of Residence” Principle into the said SSA. The amended SSA between India and the Netherlands, when operational from the third month from the date of notifying the said Amendment to the Netherlands by India, will strengthen the ties between the two countries, and continue to favourably impact the profitability and competitive position of Indian and Dutch companies with foreign operations in either country by reducing their cost of doing business abroad. The SSA will also help promote more investment flows between the two countries.
India and Portugal Sign a Historical Agreement to Promote Cooperation in the Field of Archives A Protocol of Cooperation was signed between the National Archives of India and the Minister of Culture of the Portuguese Republic in the field of archives. As a first step under this agreement, the Torre do Tombo (National Archives of Portugal) handed over to the National Archives of India digital copies of 62 volumes of the collection known as ‘Moncoes do Reino’ (Monsoon correspondence). These volumes were originally part of over 456 volumes that cover the period from 1568 to 1914 and form the largest of all record collections in the Goa State Archives. The collection consists of direct correspondence from Lisbon to Goa and is important primary source for the study of the Portuguese expansion in Asia, their trade rivalries with the Arabs and European powers and their relations with neighbourings Kings in South Asia and East Asia.
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GOVERNANCE WATCH
India and Thailand sign MoU on Cooperation in Controlling Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, their Precursors and Chemicals and Drug Abuse A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Thailand was signed. The MoU will enhance the mutual cooperation between India and Thailand in regulation of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and combating drug trafficking. It will facilitate the exchange of information of new trends and modus operandi of drug traffickers, sharing the list of smugglers/syndicates in operation, sharing of best practices in the field of supply and demand reduction and help to provide mutual assistance & cooperation in investigation of drug offences.
India declares itself free from Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 and H5N8 India had reported outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian influenza at various epicenters in Delhi, Gwalior (MP), Rajpura (Punjab), Hissar (Haryana), Bellary (Karnataka), Allappuzha and Kottayam (Kerala), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Daman (Daman) and Khordha and Angul (Odisha during October, 2016 to February, 2017. All the outbreaks of Avian Influenza (HPAI) mentioned above were notified to OIE and the control and containment operations were carried out as per the Action Plan on Preparedness, Control and Containment of Avian Influenza. Surveillance was carried out throughout the country and around the areas of the outbreaks since completion of the operation (including culling, disinfection and clean-up) and surveillance in the states showed no evidence of presence of Avian Influenza Virus.
European Union & India establish an Investment Facilitation Mechanism European Union (EU) and India have announced the establishment of an Investment Facilitation Mechanism (IFM) for EU Investments in India. The mechanism will allow for a close coordination between the European Union and the Government of India with an aim to promote and facilitate EU investment in India. This agreement builds on the Joint Statement of the 13th EUIndia Summit held in Brussels in March 2016, where the EU had welcomed India’s readiness to establish such a mechanism and leaders from both sides had reaffirmed their shared commitment to oppose protectionism and to work in favour of a fair, transparent and rule-based trade and investment environment. As part of the IFM, the EU Delegation to India and the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, agreed to hold regular high level meetings to assess and facilitate “ease of doing business” for EU investors in India. This will include identifying and putting in place solutions to procedural impediments faced by EU companies and investors in establishing or running their operations in India. Stressing the importance of this initiative, Tomasz Koslowski, Ambassador of the European Union to India said, “the establishment of the Investment Facilitation Mechanism is a right step in the direction of strengthening the trade and investment ties between the EU and India. The EU is the largest foreign investor in India and this initiative helps ensuring a more robust, effective and predictable business environment for the EU investors. At the last Summit in March 2016, leaders of both sides decided to create a new momentum in our relations. We are delivering on this.” 32 - July 2017 / Governance Today
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Shipping Ministry appointed committee suggests ways to upgrade port hospitals under PPP The Ministry of Shipping had constituted a committee to study how the existing healthcare infrastructure at major ports can be upgraded under PPP mode to provide world class health services, along with affordable medical and paramedical education. Presenting its report recently to Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Shipping and Road Transport and Highways in New Delhi, the committee has indicated possible alternatives by which port hospitals can be upgraded under PPP mode so that their healthcare facilities are augmented.
Ministry of Water Resources Signs MoU with Ministry of Skill Development for the success of Namami Gange Union Ministry for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation signed an MoU with Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship for the success of Namami Gange programme. The MoU intends to develop skilled manpower for laying sewerage pipeline, plumbing works, construction of toilets, civil masonry works, waste collection and its disposal activities. It will also develop skills for preparing products from pious waste materials like flowers, leaves, coconuts, hair and associate plastic bags and plastic bottles etc. and their proper packaging and promotion of such products. The MoU will also help in developing skills for operation and maintenance of pumps and STPs.
India ushers in GST amid historic midnight session of Parliament The Goods and Services Tax (GST) came into force at midnight, amid a historic midnight session in the Central Hall of Parliament. President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley addressed the gathering, before the President and the Prime Minister pressed a button to mark the launch of GST. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that the day marks a decisive turning point, in determining the future course of the country. He recalled that the Central Hall had been witness to several historic occasions in the past as well, including the first session of the Constituent Assembly, India’s independence, and the adoption of the Constitution. He described GST is an example of Cooperative Federalism. He quoted Chanakya to say that hard work can overcome all obstacles and help us accomplish even the most difficult of objectives. He said that just as Sardar Patel had ensured political integration of the country, GST would ensure economic integration. Recalling the famous scientist Albert Einstein who said that income tax is the most difficult thing to understand in the world, he said that GST would ensure one nation, one tax. He said that GST would lead to immense savings of time and cost. Savings of fuel due to elimination of delays at State border crossings will help the environment as well, he added. The Prime Minister said GST would lead to a modern tax administration which is simpler, more transparent, and helps curb corruption. He described GST as a “Good and Simple Tax” which would ultimately benefit the people. The Prime Minister also quoted a shloka from the Rig Veda to describe the spirit of common goal, common determination, leading to mutual and shared benefit for the society.
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GOVERNANCE WATCH
Achal Kumar Joti takes over as new Chief Election Commissioner of India Achal Kumar Joti has assumed charge as the 21st Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, succeeding Dr. Nasim Zaidi. After the assumption of charge, Mr Joti spoke about the priorities of the Commission and said that the Commission shall pursue vigorously its commitment to hold free, fair, inclusive and credible elections throughout the country. Secondly, the Commission will also pursue its mission to ensure that “No Voter to be Left Behind”. Thirdly, the Commission shall actively promote e-Governance for holding of elections to the State Assemblies and Parliamentary Elections in the country, added Mr Joti.
Prices of appliances under UJALA revised after GST comes into effect The prices of energy efficient appliances distributed under the Government of India’s Unnat Jeevan by Affordable LEDs and Appliances for All (UJALA) scheme have been revised, owing to the rollout of the Goods & Services Tax (GST). The 9W LED bulbs are priced Rs70/-, 20W LED tube light Rs 220/- and 5-star rated fans will be available at Rs1,200/- only. Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under the administration of Ministry of Power, Government of India and the nodal agency for implementation of the UJALA programme has appealed all consumers not to pay any amount over and above the prices fixed by EESL for the UJALA appliances.
Chitale Committee recommends several measures for Desiltation of Ganga Chitale committee on Desiltation of Ganga has recommended a slew of measures which include study of reach wise sediment transport processes along with establishing annual sediment budgets to guide de-silting activities, Preparation of annual reports (Sand registry) describing the previous de-silting/ dredging activity and a technical institute may be entrusted to conduct the sediment budget, morphological and flood routing studies that would examine and confirm the necessity of the de-silting of the reach under consideration.
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The Union Minister of Finance says IndiaAfrica together can shape the future of the world The Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Arun Jailtey said that the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Annual Meeting organized in India this year is a new chapter in India - Africa relationship. India-Africa together can shape the future of the world, he added. Shri Jaitley was speaking at the Opening Session of Annual meeting of African Development Bank themed on ‘AfricaIndia Cooperation on enhancing the High 5 Strategy’ at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Mr. Jaitley said “our commitment is reflected in high level engagement with Africa on a scale never seen before.” He further added that ‘’India-Africa partnership model is unique; the cornerstone is voluntary partnership without any imposition on partner and the partner is free to decide what is best for them.”
Cabinet approves policy for providing preference to ‘Make in India’ in Government procurements The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi has approved a policy for providing preference to ‘Make in India’ in government procurements. The new policy will give a substantial boost to domestic manufacturing and service provision, thereby creating employment. It will also stimulate the flow of capital and technology into domestic manufacturing and services. It will also provide a further thrust towards manufacture of parts, components, sub-components etc. of these items, in line with the vision of ‘Make in India’. The new policy is the reflection of the Government of India to encourage ‘Make in India’ and promote manufacturing and production of goods and services in India with a view to enhancing income and employment. Procurement by the Government is substantial in amount and can contribute towards this policy objective.
India’s First Fleet of 200 Electric Vehicles Launch in Nagpur The Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari and Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis launched India’s first multi-modal electric vehicle project in Nagpur. This unique project brings together e-buses, e-cabs, e-rickshaws and e-autos on a single platform, the Ola App, which will enable commuters in Nagpur to book them. The fleet of 200 vehicles consists of 100 of Mahindra’s new e20 Plus vehicles, besides those from other manufacturers like Tata Motors, Kinetic and TVS. Shri Gadkari said that it was his Government’s vision to make India a 100 percent e-vehicle nation. He said that his Ministry was prepared to facilitate manufacturers and other companies to take the Nagpur model to other parts of the country. He said e- vehicles need to be promoted in order to cut down the huge crude oil bill, reduce pollution and create cost effectiveness in transportation. To begin with, the emphasis would be on commercial vehicles and then on others.
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July 2017 / Governance Today - 35
Article
MULTI-MODAL TRANSPORT ALL THE WAY TO SEAMLESS TRAVEL
36 - July 2017 / Governance Today
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G Development of a multimodal transportation corridor is a viable alternative to adding capacity to an existing roadway or building another parallel roadway in the same corridor. Moving some short or medium distance trips to transit can reduce some demand for capacity on existing roadways
one are the days of hiding behind an A-Z map, peering at street signs and asking passersby for directions. Nowadays, if one lives in a city, transport can be as easy as asking your Smartphone to crunch together everything from ride-shares and trains to bike-shares and buses, all working together to make your journey as efficient and enjoyable as possible. And multimodal transport is only going to get slicker, easier and more sophisticated in the years to come. It’s a big business too: the global market for intelligent mobility is predicted to be worth £900bn a year by 2025, where travel is increasingly simplified across modes is inevitable. New mobility business models could save users £150 billion in 2025 Multimodal transport involves integrating everything from cars and trains to trams – and even good old-fashioned walking – to take the hassle out of travel. In essence, using two or more modes of transport to make streamlined and effective journeys. If all the modes in which we travel were merged together to create integrated and smart multimodal journeys, not only would our trips be quicker – they’d be more enjoyable too. But while we’re far from the magical world of effortless travel, there’s no doubt that the seamlessness of our transport networks has improved massively – and the multimodal future is looking bright. Trends in urban transportation The cities of this diverse country and its urban population play an important role in the growth of the country. As per the 2011 census, 31.2 percent of India’s population (377 million) is living in urban areas.
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As the UN estimates, this numbers will grow to 40% (590 million) by 2030 and 58 percent (875 million) by 2050. While only 30 percent of the total population live in urban areas, approximately 63% of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is contributed by those urban areas1. Even with the current size of the urban population, Indian cities are facing a multitude of issues such as severe congestion; deteriorating air quality; increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transport sector; increasing road accidents; and an exploding growth in the number of private vehicles (largely motorcycles). With the urban population projected to more than double in the next generation, the situation could easily get out of control and thwart India’s economic development efforts unless remedial measures are soon taken. In a move to recognise and act upon urban mobility issues, in 2006 the federal government of India introduced the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP), setting the policy framework for providing sustainable mobility for the future (see Figure 1). In 2015 the government unveiled its new plan to upgrade 100 cities into ‘smart cities’ and to ‘renew’ 500 cities. Growth of private-vehicle ownership The growth of vehicles has been much faster than that of the population. The number of registered vehicles increased from 55 million in 2001 to 142 million by 2011, with a currentlyestimated 208.6 million in 2017. Seventy-five per cent of these registered vehicles (147 million) are motorcycles. Furthermore, the physical infrastructure hasn’t been able to keep pace with the growth in demand. The urban road length has increased from 252,001km in 2001 to 411,840km by 2011. In the last decade registered
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vehicles per million population has increased by 219% while urban road infrastructure per million only increased by 124%. This rapid motorisation has led to severe congestion, longer journeys and higher per capita trips. Indian roads are also popular for heterogeneity of vehicles sharing the same road space. There are around 32 different vehicle types in India such as bicycles, cyclerickshaws, auto-rickshaws (‘tuk-tuk’), motorcycles, cars, buses and trucks.
Target Market High-Traffic, Congested Urban Transportation Corridors Development of a multimodal transportation corridor is a viable alternative to adding capacity to an existing roadway or building another parallel roadway in the same corridor. Moving some short or medium distance trips to transit can reduce some demand for capacity on existing roadways. Corridors where an existing rail/roadway corridor can be redeveloped adding rail transit options to an existing or abandoned freight rail corridor may be considered as an alternative way to add capacity in a given corridor. Development on an active freight line would require negotiating with the freight railroad company. If an abandoned rail corridor or other publicly-owned right-of-way exists, re-development could be simplified; however starting or re-starting rail service may meet public opposition. How Will This Help? The “new paradigm” for multimodal corridors emphasizes building transit lines and supporting pedestrian and bicycle facilities in high demand locations in order to: Enhance corridor transportation capacity and performance without adding freeway capacity by building and operating transit
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lines (including bus rapid transit, managed lanes, light rail, heavy rail, and commuter rail). Building and operating successful transit systems in multimodal corridors that attract high transit ridership and encourage livability and environmental sustainability. Transforming a corridor’s land uses and activities to be a more transitoriented pattern. The three forms that a multimodal corridor would take under the “new paradigm.” Transit-oriented multimodal corridors designed to give transit a performance advantage in serving short- and medium-length trips, while the freeway serves longdistance corridor trips. Park-andride access multimodal corridors designed to provide high levels of automobile access within, and high transit speeds through, the corridor. Transit-optimized/ freeway-constrained multimodal corridors designed to give transit a performance advantage in the corridor by constraining the capacity and performance of the freeway. Current scenario of Multi-modal transport in Logistics sector in India India has witnessed growth in Multimodal transport vis-à-vis logistics transportation in the recent times and the sector is still evolving. The advent of containerization along with initiatives from the Government such as passing Multimodal Transport Act in the Parliament in 1993 to the recent implementation of Goods and Services Tax have helped the country to progress towards an integrated transport system. It has been estimated that Indian Logistics sector will generate revenues amounting USD 200 billion by the year 2020. In order to realize this potential, the country will need to make effective use of its strengths in IT and look out for collaborations with experts in this field. Over the last few decades
Multimodal transport has evolved across various dimensions globally, the advent of containerization has greatly helped the promotion of Multimodal transport. Containerization ensured that the cost of transport from place of manufacturing to place consumption was reduced to less than 1 percent of the costs of the goods. This helped to promote multimodal transport from a simple transport by sea basis port to port to more complex link of Door-to-Door using additional modes like inland waterways, Railways and Highways. It also helped to build on advanced concepts in Multimodal transport like Land Bridges, Rail-road-Inland Waterways-Sea, LASH, Ro Ro etc. Apart from the need of the shippers to move the cargoes on a Door to Door basis the need of promoting Multimodal transport is also arising from some typical issues being faced by the transport sector across the globe with respect to: Increasing Fuel Price Congestion on Highways Working Time Directive Driver Shortages Lots of raw material and finished goods will have to move by means of Multimodal transport and this is a strong reason to attract infrastructure investment in this sector, which will have to be complemented by a strong regulatory framework to address the issues arising out of increased business activity. The Multimodal transport act was passed by Indian Parliament in the year 1993; the main objective of the act was to establish a liability regime for Multimodal Transport operators. The Director General of Shipping was notified as a Competent Authority under the aegis of this law. The passing of the MMTG Act paved the way for various Indian Logistic Service providers to get themselves
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registered with the authorities and start issuing Multi Modal Transport Document. This helped the shipper community in India in a big way as now they could ship goods from any inland point in India to any destination in the world under a single Contract of Carriage. After enactment of the law various logistic service providers got themselves registered as Multi Modal Transport Operators and started offering Multimodal Transport Services to meet the growing requirements of India Shippers. The MTOs could offer more comprehensive services than the normal operators, as postregistration they were equipped with international Network to handle shipments from any place to any place in the world and more importantly they also had the insurance coverage to cover the carrier’s liability which protected the shippers from the perils of Multimodal Transport across various modes. Boosted by a slew of steps to enhance efficiency, the country’s 12 major ports surpassed private players by handling a record 673.43 million tonnes of cargo in 2016-17, Union Minister for the shipping, road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari said that Major ports under the Centre handled a record 647.43 million tonnes (MT) of cargo in 2016-17 registering an annual growth rate of 6.79 per cent against 4.32 per cent in 2015-16, adding the performance of major ports was steadily improving on the back of a number of initiatives taken by the government to enhance their efficiency. Major ports have been benchmarked to international standards, he said, adding that 70 initiatives have been implemented and the remaining will be done by 2019. Role of IT IT is extensively used in the Indian Context of undertaking Multimodal
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Transport and attempts are being made to automate the entire Supply Chain System. For shipments arriving in to India, its starts with filing of manifests, then movement of goods between different custom bonded areas including the port CY, CFSs, and ICDs and then the final customs clearance before delivery. Conversely for shipments going out of India, it starts with customs clearance at the closest proximity to the shippers manufacturing facility or the warehouse till the time it exits through Gateway port using various modes of transport and bonded facilities. In order to automate the entire process, Indian Government has established Indian Customs EDI System (ICES), which is under the Central Board for Excise and Customs (CBEC), Ministry of Commerce. ICES is now operational at 116 Custom locations within the country, which accounts for 98% of India’s International trade, that entails 24,000 users and covers 700,000 shippers. It links all major entities in the supply chain like shippers, Shipping Lines, Air Lines, Airports, Sea Ports, Banks, Custodians. All this is achieved through ICEGATE, which acts as an EDI interface with all the entities. Importantly, it also contains a component of RMS (Risk Management System), which facilitates the compliant trade segregating transactions that require deeper scrutiny by customs officers. Apart from the ICSE, various shipping lines, Airlines, CFS and ICD operators and all other entities have their own e-commerce portals through which the users can transact with the Service Providers seamlessly. The Reserve Bank of India has also introduced Real Time Guaranteed Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) Systems, which have greatly shortened the money settlement cycle. All these initiatives have helped to bring about substantial
reduction in transaction time and costs thereby enabling smoother multimodal Transport within India. Way Forward Public transport should be more reliable and attractive so that the commuter willingly abandons the use of personalized vehicle and take to public transport. It should also meet the needs of the weaker sections of the society. Further, public transport should available from origin to destination with minimum interchanges involving least time loss and stations are easy and safe to access. Hence public transport network must be integrated and multimodal. It is equally important to integrate various modes of mass transport with IPT. Integration of walk and bicycle may also be taken with public transport to enhance share of non-motorized modes. A well developed multimodal transportation system use applications of intelligent transport system. Improved integration among various modes of mass transport helps people to move around easily and reduces the cost and inconvenience of travel. Thus, it brings reduced congestion on the road, convenience to commuters, efficiency and cost effectiveness. The information regarding parking facilities near interchange station, unified ticket, co-ordinated time tables and public awareness play important role. India still has much ground to make up to achieve efficient and sustainable city public transport systems. The public infrastructure will improve the mobility of people and will open the door to new economic opportunities for the country. Investment in public transportation has a multiplier effect for the economy.
July 2017 / Governance Today - 39
Organiser
1 5 S e p te m b e r, M u m b ai
“
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A cashless economy is secure, it is clean. You have a leadership role to play in taking India towards an increasingly digital economy. Narendra Modi
With the theme of “Towards Cashless Future 2017”, 3rd India’s Payment Corridor will evolve ideas on managing the changes that are imperative to quickly transform the aim to promote transparent, digital and reliable transactions. The summit will bring together the experts from Top banking and financial organizations and institutions under one roof. INVITED SPEAKERS
Shri Vinit Goenka Member-Governing Council CRIS Ministry of Railways Member, IT Taskforce, Ministries of Shipping, Road Transport & Highway, GoI
Suresh A Shan - SAS Head, Innovation & Future Technologies Business Information Technology Solutions, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited
Mr. Abhijeet Davane Vice President Business Solution Group RBL Bank
Mr. Prasanna Lohar Head TechnologyDigital Banking DCB Bank
Mr. A.P. Hota Managing Director & CEO NPCI
Mr. N Rajendran Chief Technology Officer NPCI
Mr. Madhukar R. Umarji Consultant Indian Bank Association
Butchi Babu Burra IT Advisor Bank Of Indiav
Mr. Subrata Gupta Chief General ManagerFI, NABARD
Mr. Kanchan Kulkarni Regional HeadMaharashtra ICICI Bank
Mr. Abhishant Pant Payment Expert
Dr. Onkar Nath Information Security Strategist (Security Expert)
Mr. Nihar Pattanaik Head of Retail Banking EXIM Bank
Mr. Darpan Shah VP & Business Development Head - Global Remittances & Ecommerce, Induslnd Bank
Mr. H.K. Behra General Manager-Govt Business & CRLSD Union Bank
Mr. Rajendra Mhalsekar President Business & Digital Technology Solutions, YES Bank
Mr. Butchi Burra Babu GM-IT Bank Of India
Mr. Milind Varerkar General Manager IT Saraswat Bank
Sheoji Meena GM -IT & CO Bank Of India
Mr. Rajnish Khare Head Digital Transformation & Mobile Banking HDFC Bank
Mr. Jayesh Modi Head Inclusive Banking Unit HSBC Bank
Mr. KRC Murty Vice PresidentChief Technology Office Deutsche Bank
Mr. Vaibhav Joshi Senior Vice PresidentDigital Banking Yes Bank
Ashwani Kumar CMD Dena Bank
Mr. Tushar Trivedi Executive Vice President Kotak Mahindra Bank
MANY MORE
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Conference Discussion on roadmap and other topical issues in making India cashless. Delegate Participation: Footfall of 600 plus industry delegates. Exhibition: Leading exhibitors from top of the line organisations showcasing best practices to the conference participants and seeking tie-ups and collaborations. Networking Breaks: Giving you limitless opportunities to meet with the key decision-makers and industry-influencers!
WHO TO ATTEND
Cl Os & CTOs from the banking and financial services Sector Heads of Sales & Marketing of technology companies Heads of Research, Innovations & Technology in the IT sector IT companies providing services to the BFSI sector Business Heads across Retail, Alternate Channels, HR, Heads of Financial Inclusion, Rural Banking, SME etc.
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Article
A NEW LEASE OF LIFE TO PPP THROUGH HAM FOR INFRA PROJECTS
42 - July 2017 / Governance Today
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Union Road Transport minister, Nitin Gadkari is actively promoting his brain-child — the Hybrid-Annuity Model or HAM these days. Introduced in January 2016 to revive investments in road infrastructure projects, HAM has seen good initial success. About 30 highways projects have been awarded under HAM by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) at a total cost of about Rs 28,000 crore. Half the projects awarded in 201617 were under HAM.
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ome of the road projects under the new hybrid annuity model (HAM) that attracted aggressive bidding this fiscal year are struggling to achieve financial closure as banks remain cautious, developers and analysts said. Under HAM, the government commits up to 40 percent of the project cost over a period and hands the project to the developer. The developer has to fund the balance with debt and equity, and is paid annuity income in installments. The model was designed to make it safe for banks and investors. According to analysts, some lenders are “not happy” with the hybrid annuity model. “Some of the banks are refusing to finance on the basis of those documents, and only a few banks are coming forward for the hybrid annuity model. They have some reservations which they are discussing with the NHAI. The other part is that some companies are finding it difficult to put equity,” he said. He added the company had achieved financial closure of its HAM project. Like all public-private-partnership (PPP) projects, HAM projects too are facing issues with financial closure,
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said another developer, which has the largest portfolio of build, operate and transfer (BOT) road projects, has bid for HAM projects in various states but not announced a win so far. Out of the 26 HAM projects awarded this fiscal, about four-five could get scrapped due to inability of the developer to invest equity or bring in debt, said an analyst, asking not to be named as he is not authorized to speak to reporters. Large banks such as State Bank of India (SBI) and Axis Bank are selectively funding HAM projects even as many companies continue to bid for and win such projects, according to a developer. “Earlier, banks were slightly reluctant with funding hybrid annuity projects, especially for developers with weak balance sheets and lack of construction experience. They (banks) were taking longer time than usual to assess HAM projects as they wanted to understand the new business model. However, in the recent weeks, a lot of companies have been able to achieve financial closure for their hybrid annuity projects,” said a Wealth analyst. The government’s push for new lowrisk HAM awards to kick-start private sector investments has led to the emergence of a number of smaller, regional companies that have added
to the sector’s competitive intensity, according to road developers and analysts. The increase in awards of projects under the governmentfunded engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) model too has driven up bidding aggression. “A concern in the roads sector today is that there is huge aggression even though the number of players is less. The job being bid out is quite large, but theirs is no comfortable participation and instead, there is a lot of aggression. And that will lead to execution challenges,” said a market analyst. Road projects in India have always been awarded in one of the three formats—BOT annuity, BOT toll and EPC. In BOT annuity, a developer builds a highway, operates it for a specified duration and transfers it to the government, which pays the developer annuity over the concession period. Under BOT toll, a concessionaire generates revenue from the toll levied on vehicles using a road. In EPC, the developer builds with government money. India has set a target to award 25,000km of road projects in FY17 under the ministry of road transport and highways and National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), compared to 10,000km achieved in FY16.
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The government has decided to introduce Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) to revive PPP (Public Private Partnership) in highway construction. At present, three different models –PPP Annuity, PPP Toll and EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) were followed by the government while adopting private sector participation. Launch of the new model is due to the many problems with the existing ones. Large number of stalled projects are blocking infrastructure projects and at the same time adding to NPAs of the banking system. In this context, the government has introduced Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) to rejuvenate PPP. By features the HAM is a mix between the existing two models – BOT Annuity and EPC. Hence to understand the HAM, we should know the basic features of the existing PPP models. 1. The Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) Annuity Model Under BOT annuity, a developer builds the highway, operates it for a specified duration and transfers it back to the government. The government starts payment to the developer after the launch of commercial operation of the project. Payment will be made on a six month basis. 2. BOT Toll Model In this toll based BOT model, a road developer constructs the road and he is allowed to recover his investment through toll collection. This toll collection will be over a period of nearly 30 years in most cases. There is no government payment to the developer as he earns his money invested from tolls. 3. Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Model Under this model, the cost is completely borne by the government. Government invites bids for engineering knowledge from the private players. Procurement of raw material and construction costs are met by the
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government. The private sector’s participation is minimum and is limited to the provision of engineering expertise. A difficulty of the model is that financial is the high financial burden for the government What is hybrid annuity? In financial terminology hybrid annuity means that payment is made in a fixed amount for a considerable period and then in a variable amount in the remaining period. This hybrid type of payment method is attached under the HAM. The Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) In India, the new HAM is a mix of BOT Annuity and EPC models. As per the design, the government will contribute to 40 percent of the project cost in the first five years through annual payments (annuity). The remaining payment will be made on the basis of the assets created and the performance of the developer. Here, hybrid annuity means the first 40% payment is made as fixed amount in five equal installments whereas the remaining 60% is paid as variable annuity amount after the completion of the project depending upon the value of assets created. As the government pays only 40 percent, during the construction stage, the developer should find money for the remaining amount. Here, he has to raise the remaining 60 percent in the form of equity or loans. There is no toll right for the developer. Under HAM, Revenue collection would be the responsibility of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Advantage of HAM is that it gives enough liquidity to the developer and the financial risk is shared by the government. While the private partner continues to bear the construction and maintenance risks as in the case of BOT (toll) model, he is required only to partly bear the financing risk. Government’s policy is that the HAM will be used in stalled projects where other models are not applicable.
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Pic Courtesy: Dr. Samra t Mukhopadhyay A ssociate Professor: dept.of textile technology, IIT Delhi
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IMPACT Prevention from Trafficking 13,500 Education 1, 15,000 Children Home55,000 CHILDLINE 109828,400 Railway Children12,700 Health & Hygiene 1,75,000 July 2017 Training / Governance Today - 4563,000 Life Skills & Vocational Program-
Comparing the models Currently, there are three different models in India for awarding the National Highways Projects viz. BOT-Annuity, BOT-Toll and EPC. In BOT-Annuity, the developer constructs the road, maintains it and gets the fixed payment from the government. This model needs frequent government payments, which are guaranteed though deferred sometimes. Since the annuity contract is of long term (15-20 years), this model has not been much attractive at all places. Difference between BOT (Toll) and BOT (Annuity) is that in the case of BOT (Toll), the traffic/commercial risks are borne by the concessionaire and the investment is sustained by toll revenues. Tolls are not feasible at every place. For example, toll is not feasible in rural / semi-urban areas. Further, since collection of toll depends on traffic, the developer faces so called traffic risk in this model. In case of EPC model, the developer faces only the construction risk.
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How the New Model would work? Under the new model, Government would provide upfront around 40% of the project cost to developer to start the work and remaining 60% would be borne by the private player. Once the project is completed, the NHAI will collect toll and refund the private players in instalments for 15-20 years. This implies that the toll collection job will be done by NHAI. This model is being cited beneficial because of the following: Compared to the BOT Annuity / EPC projects, it would ease the cash flow pressure on the government. Compared to BOT Toll model, the traffic risk is not associated with the concessionaire; it gives him some comfort level to lend from the banks. The Government expects to attract more private investment under the new model as the developer has to meet 60 percent of financial cost of the project.
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Interview
A DEDICATED AGENCY TO BE IN PLACE FOR BETTER
TRANSPORT AND ROAD SAFETY SYSTEM
In an exclusive conversation with Kriti Nath Jha - Governance Today, Prof Geetam Tiwari shares her views on Road Safety and emphasized on a dedicated agency to address the urgent need of better and improved roads, focusing more on pedestrians and cyclists and integration of all modes of transport.
Geetam Tiwari, Ph.D. MOUD Chair Professor for Transport Planning, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT, New Delhi
Q: India doesn’t rank good in terms of road safety, having had more road fatalities than any other country in the recent years, even though the vehicle population here is a mere fraction of what leading economies have. Your views on this! A: These are serious issues here.. Over the years increasing numbers of car have been a disturbing trend .It has been increasing 6-7 percent right now and has increased 4-5 percent during the last couple of years. And it continues to increase is a major worry. We need more and better roads, but it didn’t happen. We should have our priority to improve road system, building roads with improved design compatibility. Good alignment for road design is critical in the effort to balance the needs and compatibility on adjacent land… and align the vertical and horizontal position of the road to protect…As we become richer; number of people dying on roads is increasing. So we have to take concerted and sustained efforts that are required to curb this grave public health problem. Q: How do you see sudden rise in safety awareness among Indian car-makers that safety features like dual airbags and antilockbraking systems (ABS) will be made mandatory in all new models. While from October 2019, all cars currently in production will be required to meet these standards? A: Car industry is adopting the norms for safety as per the government’s regulations what the car manufactures have gone for installing safety features like dual airbags and antilockbraking system as it has become mandatory after the regulations come from the government. In India, the government’s regulations to be in sync with the European or International standards—required for safety. So ensuring road safety, the role of the government becomes all important. Q: Do you think that the Union
48 - July 2017 / Governance Today
Government’s efforts to bring a Road Safety and Transport Bill would make Speed Governors mandatory in commercial vehicles and help in curbing the road accidents on Indian roads? A: We have seen many states have opposed these regulations citing various reasons for implementation of road safety. But we need a dedicated agency for the road safety. Which would oversee and monitor the road standard, vehicle standard. There are needs for sustained efforts and it should come from the government’s end with a dedicated budget and adequate staff and recommendations and having experts in that very agency. Unless we have dedicated agency assigned to collect and analyse data, we could ensure safety for roads in our cities. Only after doing this we can involve other stakeholders. Q: How do you view the policies should be in place to deal with the severe pollution problems and that will actually make our cities healthier and better places to live in will have to be less-car centric ? A: Pollution has an adverse impact on health. But it is not only transport but other sources like construction works and industrial units are too responsible for killing air. All these sources are to be addressed while planning to control pollution. Since all of these sources are responsible, so not a particular source should be targeted. The government should keep various modes of transport to address the issue of problem and more focus should be given on pedestrian infrastructure, Without this we can’t imagine safer and healthier public transport system in our cities. Q: There is an urgent need to ensure better coordination among various authorities like Federal, States and Locals and integrate activities of the traffic police and RTOs to effective implementation of the policies, especially related to
the road safety in a digital age. Your views on this! A: These kinds of efforts are required with improved data system in place. Every agency has its task cut out, but hey need to act in tandem . dedicated agency for road safety is need of hour and other agencies are to be involved into it. And it should be set up at both state and national level. Q: How pedestrians and cyclists could be made safer on the streets as they always remain at receiving end in every plan and policy takes shape for the road governance? A: The pedestrian should be focused in planning for the road in a prioritied manner. Cyclists are to be promoted for cleaner, healthier and sustainable transport system and all raods like arterial roads, small roads and further smaller roads have a speed limit of 50 KM, 30 KM and 10 KM respectively for coming traffic. Car parking have to be regulated and pedestrian parks to be in place. But in Delhi, only New Delhi has pedestrian parks and the cars and other four wheelers have taken away major portion of the roads in the cities. The new parking policy in Delhi has been prepared, but it is to be seen how it is going to be implemented and come out with desired result. Q: Is Mass Rapid Transport system a panacea for all our commuting woes? A: No..not at all. I don’t think so. Mass Rapid Transport is not a solution for our mass transport woes. Around 50 -55 percent people walk or use bicycles and other use buses and private vehicles. Mass transport, which major chunk is shared by Metro is for long distances to cover in big cities. Even in Delhi for over 200 KM, it has not completely addressed the transport problems. Other modes like buses and bicycles also to be integrated with Metro system. As Metro is more capital-intensive and it has not been able to solve the traffic woes in the cities.
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Interview
new freight
transport systems must be responsive to user needs and expectations
Shri Raj Kumar Sharma MD Vaibhav Freight Logistics Pvt Ltd
In the digital age of transportation, the freight transportation system will face challenges that will require the development of new paradigms of operations and planning. This situation will result from a combination of factors. First, domestic and international freight demand will continue to grow. Domestically, the consumption of goods will increase as new segments of the population enjoy more effective income. Internationally, the incorporation of the former socialist republics into the world trade system and the expansion of economic activities in developing countries will significantly augment the flow of goods and merchandise. Concurrently, pressure for enhanced economic competitiveness—a consequence of the economic unification of Europe and the resurgence of the Asian economies—will increase. So, new freight-transport systems must be responsive to user needs and expectations. Its shape will be evolving in coming years . Consumers will demand more control of the nature of the service they receive. This trend will be accentuated by the availability of information systems and technologies that enable users to specify the kinds of service they require and to integrate their operations effectively with the freight transportation system, Mr Sharma expressses his views with Governance Today....
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July 2017 / Governance Today - 49
Q: How do you view the current tech trends that are revolutionizing transportation and logistics by solving decades-old problems in logistics, making transportation and storage faster, safer and simpler? A: Present government has given much importance to the safety and storage of goods across India. Various warehouses have been opened and connected with each other from station to its destination of storage facility for fuehrer shipment. The over long problems have almost been removed with the use of modern technology. Q: Last mile delivery has long been a strain on logistics providers, who often lose money on its implementation. Now, tech startups are utilizing new avenues, including the sharing economy, to make last mile delivery convenient and profitable. Your views on this. A: The initiative taken by the government is really worthy and timely as well. The requirements of the logistics sector addressed by using the new technologies and resulted in coming down of cost and saving in time of transportation of the goods. Logistics movement has now become more safer and it has led to contributing in the revenue of the nation. Also sharing the economy with each other has increased the margin of individual profit. Q: Outsourcing all or a portion of transportation to a third-party logistics (3PL) company may be one way shippers are addressing many of these challenges. So, what do you think of more logistics challenges shippers are facing today in this context? A: Outsourcing is a growing area of activity in logistics sector. Third party is Okay, though shippers are not very much comfortable. However, in coming years it yields better results when the shippers well accustomed to these new practices and may also see
50 - July 2017 / Governance Today
growth of their business to optimum level. Q: What are the growth drivers and opportunities before global logistics management? Do you expect more of as the whole transport sector is moving fast to adopt digital mode? A: Sooner or later, Goods transport sector to adopt digital mode. It is going to smooth and acceptable in coming days. It would help in watching, controlling and monitoring logistics movement in real-time. So, help to come out of the old system and adopt new technology based system for efficient and reliable transportation of the goods. Q: How do you view the increasing role of customized fleet in India in transportation of perishable items and hazardous materials from one corner of the country to the other one? A: Big cargo operation in time-bound manner with safe and sound condition. So, adopt the customized fleet is need of hour, but right now there is lack of such facility in customized fleet system. The perishable items to reach their destination in time is a must for shippers and that can be done with the help of technology on a fast pace of adoption and integrating all resources in pace for better delivery of the goods. Q: International business is done under government control. For import and export of products various licenses are taken and various information are to be submitted. Moreover, the whole procedure is quite complex. How do you view this...? A: Receiving end of the goods is as important as origination of such items as per needs and requirements of the shippers. Big challenge is as of now to the regulations and required information to handle such big cargos. However, in recent years the governments has modified various
norms as ease of doing business and it would help to International Logistics sector too. Q: The Government has come out with EXIM policy for 2015-2020. Is this policy an advantage and help to increase International freight forwarding business? A: The EXIM policy for 2015-2020 would help in real growth of export in india. They have enshrined the provisions for the MSMEs, evey nook and corner, even from remote areas have been covered in this new policy and add it to the benefit of the overall growth of the industry with a focused and organised market. Most of the trade are carried through the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai for Western and African countries and Mundra port is for South East Asian nations. Large vessels come to these ports for pick up the goods and the inland waterways also facilitate as a channel for small vessels for shipment. Q: How do view relevance of India as a hub in terms of International logistics under the present government? A: The present government is doing well to promote with setting up more logistics parks in the country with a better connecting to all existing ports across the country. The country would surely get benefits of such efforts taken by this government as making India a hub of business in coming years.
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