A month in the India Transport Sector

November, 2012

FOCUS: RAILWAYS ISSUES

SAFETY AND SECURITY ON INDIAN RAILWAYS Instead of being a rare and seldom, train accidents seem to have become a norm in India. Precious lives are lost on a regular basis as a result of derailments, collisions and fires. Sadly the problem is spread out across the whole country rather than being just a local problem. More information on ITP PANIC FROM BULK SMS MESSAGES CREATES A FRENZIED NORTH EAST EXODUS The power of cyberspace recently brought a country with a population of a billion people and counting to its knees in an unprecedented safety crisis. As mass SMS messages carried threats to a certain section of the population, the administration of India was tested to the core. More information on ITP RAIL SECURITY INDIAN RAILWAYS AFFECTED BY MISSING MINISTER On 30 July, thirty two people lost their lives due to a fire in the sleeper coach of Tamil Nadu Express while it passed through Nellore. The shocking incident brought out the failing security and safety conditions of the Indian Railways into the limelight once again. To top it all off, the apathy of the Railways Minister, Mukul Roy was more than evident as he reluctantly reached the accident spot in Nellore more than 12 hours later. More information on ITP NEW TATKAL SCHEME BRINGS RELIEF TO INDIAN RAILWAY PASSENGERS Booking a tatkal ticket was once no less than a nightmare for the average Indian passenger. As almost all of the tickets were lapped up in advance by touts in conjunction with the official staff, there were little or no tickets available for the genuine passenger. More information on ITP

EDITORIAL
As we showed in our second Special issue, Road safety is a vast challenge that can hamper transportation development. India is the worldwide leader regarding road deaths. It costs USD 10 billion or, in other words, 3% of the countrys GDP. Roughly speaking, its as if the country was buying a hundred French Rafale jet fighters every year. Thats a lot of money and a genuine burden. The true question is: Is the Indian government fully aware of how serious this matter is? Several States took action in order to tackle this issue. In Rajasthan, 10 state departments have been involved in a Road safety policy draft that should be presented to the government. Rajasthan is one of the few states to have set up a Road safety council. The Jammu and Kashmir government is also going to launch a Road safety awareness campaign. This government also aims to be tackling several aspects of the issue: rash driving, driving licences etc. But its not alone, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Goa, West Bengal etc. Pretty much every State has its own idea and initiative on the matter. All these initiatives sure are fine and dandy, but they clearly wont be enough to help reverse the trend. It is a global issue, and all stakeholders should to be involved in every Road safety initiatives: police, motor vehicles departments, public works departments, health departments etc. Too many stakeholders are still splendidly isolated. Well, that is Road safety: States take - or try to take - initiatives and activists spread Road safety messages, but who is changing its mind to drive safely? Because it is one of the major challenges: in a 1.2 billion citizens country, who really cares for road safety? With road safety to be introduced in school curriculum maybe things will slowly begin to change. On March, 2011, we were already reporting on this idea, as it had been mentioned by the Union government. Experts predict that by 2020 there will be 450 million vehicles on Indian roads. Today, there are only 100 million. India cannot afford to pay USD 45 billion every year for road fatalities expenses. Road fatalities, rash driving, bad infrastructures are a cancer eating away at Indias sustainable development. Trivial measures are not enough. A drastic remedy is needed. The kind that needs courage.

by Digital Bizzline Ltd. All rights reserved Copyright India Transport Portal. Edited by Digital Bizzline Ltd. All rights reserved

A month in the India Transport Sector CARS

EU TRADE NORMS IMPACT LUXURY CAR IMPORTS The growth story of the Indian automobile sector has been the toast of global manufacturers for quite some time. With these manufacturers vying to get a share of the Indian success story, the country has become the destination for a spate of auto launches by auto majors. More information on ITP PETROL CAR SALES HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY FUEL PRICE HIKES In a recent budget proposal presented by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to the Finance Ministry of India, the former has urged the later to levy an additional excise duty on diesel cars. More informations on ITP STRICTER FUEL NORMS ANNOUNCED FOR PASSENGER CARS With the entire country aggressively pursuing the Go Green movement, India has once again reiterated its commitment to the cause by announcing stricter fuel norms for passenger cars plying along the countrys roads. More informations on ITP RENAULT NISSAN GOES FOR JUGAAD Carlos Ghosn the global head of the RenaultNissan alliance is all set to go for the Indian jugaad way to design and develop small cars for the Indian and other emerging markets of South Africa, Indonesia and Brazil. More informations on ITP ELECTRIC CAR PRODUCTION SLATED TO INCREASE WITHIN INDIA Growing environmental concerns, a steep rise in the price of fuel and an urgent need for a fuel economy backed by technological and battery improvements, have spurred major automakers throughout the globe to manufacture electric cars operating exclusively on electricity. More informations on ITP

November, 2012 INFRASTRUCTURE

POWER GRID FAILURE On 30 July 2012, half of the countrys population woke up to a morning without electricity. What seemed to be a power cut in the first instance, ended up lasting over fifteen hours the first day and occurred once again the following day for several hours. More information in ITP

PUBLIC TRANSPORT
TRAMS BECOMING UNPOPULAR The first thing that comes to mind upon hearing the word 'tram' is 'Kolkata', erstwhile Calcutta, the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. This iconic means of travel remains operational in this city even today, as hundreds of commuters use trams on a daily basis. More information in ITP

TYRE ISSUE
TYRES NATURAL PLANTATIONS RUBBER

One of the many problems plaguing a tyre manufacturing unit, whether big or small, is the limited availability of raw materials, especially natural rubber. The cost of natural rubber accounts for more than 40 percent of the cost of a tyre. With the high prices of natural rubber and scarce availability, coupled with a slowdown in the Indian tyre market, tyre manufacturers have encountered more and more problems over the years. More information in ITP

by Digital Bizzline Ltd. All rights reserved Copyright India Transport Portal. Edited by Digital Bizzline Ltd. All rights reserved

A month in the India Transport Sector

INSIGHTS & ANALYSIS

November, 2012
ROAD SAFETY IN INDIA

ARTICLES
PART I: ROAD SAFETY MANAGEMENT Looking at why India desperately needs road safety management programs. What is the role of the Government in this? What are the cities initiatives? Looking at corporate houses, NGOs and how these bodies work together and share the responsibility of organizing road safety management. More information on ITP PART II: ECONOMIC ASPECT OF ROAD SAFETY The other side of road safety: what is the scenario in India in terms of road accidents and how much India spends on road accidents? What costs fall under road accident expenses? How has it affected the Indian economy? Which challenges need to be overcome to create safe road conditions? More information on ITP PART III: INTELLIGENT TRAFFIC SYSTEMS The importance of intelligent traffic systems in India: how does this system work? Which cities in India have adopted this system? What is the cost of the operation? What are the results of such road safety devices? More information on ITP PART IV: IMPROVEMENT IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION Bad road engineering and improper signals can cause accidents: what are the measures undertaken to make road designs safe? What are the technical improvements in the arena of signals? How is managed the road maintenance? More information on ITP PART V: IMPROVEMENT IN AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY Looking at automotive technology in India: what have been the recent technical improvements regarding safety devices related to cars? What are the standard norms for these features in the country and how has it affected road safety? More information on ITP

by Digital Bizzline Ltd. All rights reserved Copyright India Transport Portal. Edited by Digital Bizzline Ltd. All rights reserved

A month in the India Transport Sector

INSIGHTS & ANALYSIS

November, 2012
ROAD SAFETY IN INDIA

INTERVIEWS
PART VI: WE NEED TO FINALIZE THE ACTION PLAN MR. K. K; KAPILA CHAIRMAN IRF Dr. S. Gangopadhyay is director of the Central Road Research Institute. He presents us two road safety management strategies that have to be initiated and led by the Government: Road Safety Audits and Traffic Calming Techniques. More information on ITP PART VII: FATALITIES ARE IN THE MOST PRODUCTIVE AGE GROUP PEOPLE DR. S. GANGOPADHYAY, DIRECTOR CRRI Dr. S. Gangopadhyay is director of the Central Road Research Institute. He presents us two road safety management strategies that have to be initiated and led by the Government: Road Safety Audits and Traffic Calming Techniques. More information on ITP PART VIII: ROAD SAFETY IS A CORPORATE ISSUE MR. N. KUMAR, CHAIRMAN CII-IQ Mr. N. Kumar is Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry Institute of Quality. He explains us how corporates could and should be involved in a massive road safety initiative led by his organization. More information on ITP PART IX: ROAD DEATHS ARE STATISTICS DR. ROHIT BALUJA, IRTE TREATED AS

Roads and highways could be some No Mans Lands but it is not to mention the Dr. Rohit Baluja Institute of Road Traffic Education: the first citizen's initiative to improve traffic conditions. More information on ITP PART X: FINANCIAL ALLOCATION ALONE IS INSUFFICIENT PROF. M.N. SREEHARI, KARNATAKA ADVISOR Prof. M.N. Sreehari gives us his academics insights on road safety issues. He also told us what he learnt from the Karnataka initiatives he used to enhance as a Government Advisor. More information on ITP

PART XI: WE ARE ONCE AGAIN FOUND NAPPING MR. HARMAN S. SIDHU, FOUNDER ARRIVESAFE Mr. Harman Singh Sidhu is well positioned to speak about road safety. With his Non-Government Organization, ArriveSAFE, he is constantly fighting to improve road conditions. More information on ITP

by Digital Bizzline Ltd. All rights reserved Copyright India Transport Portal. Edited by Digital Bizzline Ltd. All rights reserved

A month in the India Transport Sector

November, 2012 ADVERISE WITH US

PART XII: TRANSPORT MATTERS ARE OFF THE MIND OF THE GOVERNMENT MR. CHITTRANJAN DASS, SECRETARY GENERAL AICOGOA Mr. Chittranjan DASS secretary general, AICOGOA, claims for a better Government involvement in order to help the trucking sector to adopt road safety technologies. Comments gathered by India Transport Portal. More information on ITP PART XIII: PEOPLE BECOME AWARE WHEN YOU PENALIZE THEM PR. TALAT MUNSHI, CEPT Mr. Talat Munshi, Associate Professor at the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology explains how important it is for road safety to better think the road sharing management. He claims for strengthening the road access in order to give greater responsibilities to road users. More information on ITP PART XIV: CORPORATES MUST CREATE ROAD SAFETY AWARENESS RAM BADRINATHAN, CEO GLOBALTHEN Mr. Ram Badrinathan, CEO of GlobalTHEN presents us Pawan Ko Kahin Dekha Kya?; a driver sensitization learning campaign based on OmndiDEL. This project is an engaging program for chauffeurs that aims to transform the way they think and work in order to create road safety awareness. More information on ITP PART XV: THERE IS NO ROAD SAFETY EVEN IN DISTANT HORIZON PR. P. K. SIKDAR, PRESIDENT CONSULTANT & TECHNOCRATS PVT. LTD Pr. P. K. Sikdar, President, International Consultants &Technocrats Pvt. LTD and former CRRI director comments the dearth of political impulse regarding road safety, an issue that is one of the worst plagues for India. More information on ITP

More information on ITP

ABOUT US
Indian Transport Portal is an online news center covering the most critical industrial issues related to transport markets in India. India Transport Portal is edited by Digital Bizzline Ltd. a UK based press agency recently launched by a group of freelance journalists. Digital Bizzline Ltd. is registered at the Companies House UK: 07301455 contact@indiatransportportal.com

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