Urban Transport Infrastructure May 2022

F E A T U R E D S T O RY The Bike-Taxi Alternative to Enhancing Urban Mobility in India

E X E C L U SI VE I N TE R VI EW Dr. Brijesh Dixit (Maha Metro), Rohit Saboo (NEI Ltd)

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The Bike-Taxi Alternative to Enhancing Urban Mobility in India

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How is the Mass Rapid Transport System ensuring Inclusivity for Persons with Disabilities?

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Urban Infra Business Summit & Awards 2022

By Urban Infra Communication

By Dr. Ramanath Jha, ORF

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SPECIAL STUDY REPORT

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Boosting Employment and Accessibility Investing in India’s Public Transport Sector

OPINION

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Alternative Mobility - A Must Have For Indian Cities

By Prerana V. Mehta, WRI India

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Strategy for Technology Acquisition for Make in India- for Rail & Metro Projects and High Speed Trains

By Urban Infra Communication

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A New Outlook on Road Safety through Technology - IoT and Process Automation

By Dr. Amudhan Valavan, Director, MTC Chennai

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GSSE 2022: A 3-day Global Expo on Stainless Steel concluded in Mumbai, India

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Industry Event Calendar 2022

A greener future: Thoughts on India’s proposed battery swapping policy

By The World Bank

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R a j esh Agrawal, IRSEE Corporate Consultant, Former Member (Rolling Stock), Railway Board

MC Chauhan, IRSEE Railway Expert Ex. Chairman –KMRC, Ex. GM/NCR, Indian Railways

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Population is increasing with time geometrically which result the expansion of city as well as expansion in related infrastructure like traffic and transport. It is noticed that the mobility strength and mode is increased. So we felt need for a transport system which is able to transport maximum number of passengers in minimum duration of time.

Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) is the solution for this problem.

MRTS which may base on rail or bus is appreciable among the world and must be a sustainable transport system. From 1863 to 2021 the MRTS is increasing with increase in tier of city in the hierarchy. Now over 175 cities in 60 countries using this system.

The core requirement of mass transit in developing cities is that it carries large numbers of passengers, rapidly. In the absence of large subsidies this requires both low cost (hence low fares) and speed in operation.

In this edition, we have covered in-depth analysis on the Bike-Taxi as an alternative to enhancing Urban Mobility in India and How is the Mass Rapid Transport System ensuring Inclusivity for Persons with Disabilities? We have talked with leading Industry leaders such as Dr. Brijesh Dixit, Managing Director, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation and Rohit Saboo, President & CEO, National Engineering Industries Limited.

Kindly provide your feedback on the quality of contents of Metro Rail Today, so that we can make more improvement in future editions.

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URBAN TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE MAY 2022

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ROUND UP

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MONTH QYK B ike and Z ero21 select ed for Station Access and Mobility Program in Nagpur

Tata Motors signs MoU with Lithium Urban Technologies for EV fleet deployment in India

The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha Metro) announced two winners of the Station Access and Mobility Program (STAMP) initiative in Nagpur. The winning teams are QYK Bike and Zero21. STAMP Nagpur aims to improve connectivity to the metro by working closely with mobility companies, to develop strategies for effective first and last-mile planning and enhance metro station area infrastructure and amenities. The initiative is being led by Maha Metro and implemented in collaboration with the Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) and World Resources Institute India (WRI India).

With the vision of a clean & green environment and accelerating the transition to sustainable transportation, Tata Motors on April 25, 2022, announced a partnership with Lithium Urban Technologies, an EV based urban transportation service provider founded by Sanjay Krishnan, which will deploy 5000 XPRES T Electric Sedans, across the country, for employee transportation.

Tata Motors will commence deliveries in phases and will complete the deployment by next year.

Alstom delivers India’s first semi high-speed regional train for Delhi-Meerut RRTS project Alstom, a leading multinational sustainable mobility provider, has successfully delivered India’s first semi highspeed regional train for National Capital Region Transport Corporation’s 82.5 km long Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS Phase 1. The handover ceremony was held at Alstom’s manufacturing unit at Savli in Gujarat on May 7.

Maharashtra's Pun e-Nashik Semi High Speed R ail corridor gets approval from Niti Aayog Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Danve informed on April 29, 2022, that the proposed 235-km Pune-Nashik Semi High-Speed ​R ail Project has been got approval from the NITI Aayog. He said that the project is already received approval from the Maharashtra government and Railway Board. The land acquisition and other processes have also been started by the government. Now, it will need final approval from the Central government cabinet.

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Mumbai Metro One launches eT icketing Solutions on WhatsApp Mobile App Mumbai Metro One’s “Incubator of Innovations” has brought many first in Mass Rapid Transit Systems and all of these are centered on Commuter Experience. Ticketing products like Bank Combo Cards, Mobile QR Ticket and loyalty program – Metro Rewards are leading among them.

Now, Mumbai Metro One has launched an e-ticketing facility on the WhatsApp Mobile App which is the first kind of service in the world.

Delegation from European Investment Bank reviews Kanpur Metro Rail Project A seven-member delegation from the agency visited Kanpur Metro Rail Project on April 4, 2022 and reviewed several environmental and economic aspects of the project.

They also studied and analyzed several social changes and impact which has been caused by Metro. The team praised the efforts of the Kanpur Metro team and appreciated the measures adopted in the project on every level. Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited (UPMRC) is executing metro projects in Lucknow, Kanpur, and Agra which are partly funded by European Investment Bank (EIB).

India’s first underwater metro stretch likely to become operational by 2023 The construction of the country’s first underwater metro tunnel under the Hooghly river in Kolkata is underway and it is likely to become fully functional by the end of the year 2023. This underwater metro tunnel will connect metro services between Howrah and Kolkata. The 520 meters long underwater tunnel is part of the 16.6km East-West Metro Corridor of the Kolkata Metro Rail Project and it is being built under the river bed. The total length of the tunnel is 10.8 km in both directions (up & down line). This tunnel is being developed 33 meters below the riverbed by the consortium of Afcons Infrastructure Limited and Transtonnelstroy Limited.

NHSRCL extends deadline for conducting trial run of first bullet train on Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR The deadline for commissioning the first section of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Bullet Train project is again rescheduled from December 2023 to August 2026. The 50-km stretch from Surat to Bilimora is expected to be completed by 2026. Due to delays acquiring land in Maharashtra, the completion deadline of the entire route has been pushed to October 2028. Now, the trials on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train corridor will be conducted on the first 50-km stretch between Bilimora and Surat in 2026. The first bullet train will run at a speed of 350kmph.

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ROUND UP

Tata Projects bags construction contract of Phase 1 of Noida International Airport at Jewar Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a fully-owned subsidiary of Zurich Airport International has finally appointed Tata Projects Ltd for the construction of the proposed international airport at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh. Tata Projects will construct the terminal, runway, airside infrastructure, roads, utilities, landside facilities and other ancillary buildings for Noida International Airport.

This airport will be built on the EPC model. Govt. of Uttar Pradesh has scheduled to make the airport operational by September 2024.

Helicopter service aggregator BLADE India is planning to start a morning and evening air shuttle service between the heliport at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) which is less than a km from the terminal to Electronic City and the old HAL airport. According to the company, a one-way ticket for the helicopter ride will cost about Rs 4,000 only.

Indian Railways approves m erg er of Ch ennai MRTS with Metro Rail

Switch Mobility to in vest ₹1,000 crore in Electric Vehicle Plant setup in South India Switch Mobility, the electric vehicle unit of Ashok Leyland, is planning to invest approx. Rs1,000 crore in setting up of a dedicated Electric Vehicle Plant in South India. The plan is to set up 30,000 units of electric light commercial vehicles (E-LCV) capacity and 10,000 units of electric buses (e-buses). This plan will help Ashok Leyland to cater to the rising demand for EVs for last-mile goods and public transport.

The Southern Railway of Indian Railways (IR) has given its in-principal approval for a long-awaited merger proposal of the Chennai Mass Rapid Transit System with Chennai Metro Rail owing to huge losses and a lack of coordination between the two authorities. The decision for the merger of MRTS with Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) was put on the table after 2018, due to differences between the Tamil Nadu Government and IR's Southern Railway (SR), overland acquisition to lay a new MRTS line between Beach and Park Stations.

L&T to sell st akes from Hyderabad Metro Rail by the end of FY2022-23

B LADE set to st art Chopper Shuttle betw een B engaluru City and B angalore Airport

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The major Indian infrastructure firm Larsen & Toubro Ltd. has unveiled its plan to sell its non-core business to become a zero-debt company, excluding the debt of its non-banking financial arm L&T Finance, by the end of FY2022-23.

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Kochi Metro likely to launch Pettah-SN Junction stretch to public in June Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) is likely to commission the 1.80-km-long Pettah-SN Junction stretch of the Kochi Metro Rail Project Phase 1A in June 2022 which was earlier expected in April. The civil work of this small section has been completed by KMRL itself without taking assistance from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) which was the General Consultant for Phase 1. KMRL has recently completed speed trials on this stretch and the service trial is expected to begin in the first week of May. Also, the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) may be called for a safety inspection of the stretch by the end of May. The finishing works on Vadakkekotta and SN Junction stations are being carried out, while fire safety inspection will be done in a week.

Andhra Pradesh to develop ₹14,300cr Visakhapatnam Metro project on PPP mode

Malaysia-based SMH Rail to supply 40 coach es for Mumbai Monorail

Andhra Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited (APMRCL), an SPV formed for the implementation of metro rail projects in Andhra Pradesh state, is planning to develop a metro rail system in Visakhapatnam city on the public-private partnership modal. If things go as per the plan, then Visakhapatnam city will have a metro rail network in the next 8 to 10 years. APMRC will submit the revised Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Visakhapatnam, which is pegged at ₹14,300 crores, to the state government for approval. As per the new DPR, the metro rail will span about 76 km, passing through the city, in four corridors. The groundwork and survey have been on since 2015, but due to some delays in both the governments, the project has slowed down. This project is part of the commitment made in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014, and it is a collaborative project of both the Centre and the State Governments.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has awarded a Rolling Stock contract worth Rs 590 crores to the consortium comprising Medha Servo Drives Pvt. Ltd. and SMH Rail Bhd for the procurement of 40 coaches (10 trainsets) for Mumbai Monorail. The supplier has to fulfill the sourcing of 50% local content to align with the government’s Make in India policy.

RITES submits DPR of Rs 13,500 crore Phase 3 corridors of B angalore Metro Rail project The Rail India Technical and Economic Service Ltd (RITES) has submitted its draft detailed project report of the first two corridors (44.65 km) of Phase 3 of the Bangalore Metro Rail project to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).

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Maha Govt approves 5-km underground stret ch for Pune Metro Extension The Government of Maharashtra gave its approval to extend the existing route of Pune Metro Rail Project Phase1 from Swargate to Katraj (Corridor-2A). The 5.464 km underground extension will cost Rs 3,668.04 crores and will have 3 metro stations.

Delhi Met ro to expand Mukundpur capacities for Phase 4 corridors

depot

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC) is augmenting the capacity of its Mukundpur Metro Depot to cater to the additional requirements of two of its upcoming Phase 4 corridors i.e., Majlis Park to Maujpur (Extension of Pink Line) and Janakpuri West to R K Ashram Marg (Extension of Magenta Line). Some of the existing stabling lines in Mukundpur Depot will be further expanded and some new stabling lines will be added to accommodate more trains for stabling and maintenance. The Mukundpur depot currently has 24 stabling lines. Of these, 11 are being extended in length and will be used for stabling and maintenance of rolling stock of Pink Line, while the rest 13 stabling lines will cater to the needs of Magenta Line.

Techhalli Express: B engaluru finalised routes of 5km Metro Neo System for Electronic City Bengaluru is thinking about introducing the country's third eco-friendly electric bus system to connect Electronics City with Bangalore Metro Rail Network. The Electronics City Industrial Township Authority (ELCITA) is now planning to come up with a Metro Neo system connecting two upcoming stations on Namma Metro's Yellow Line (RV Road-Bommasandra Metro Corridor) and companies for last-mile connectivity.

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Telangana Govt looking for privat e partner for ₹5,500 crore Hyderabad Airport Metro project The Government of Telangana has reworked on the financial model for the proposed 30.7 km long Airport Metro Line which will connect Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad from Raidurg at Gachibowli. Now the government has decided to build the project under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) modal through a private infrastructure firms at an estimated cost of about Rs5,500 crore. NVS Reddy, Managing Director of Hyderabad Airport Metro Limited, the special purpose vehicle formed to take up the project, has said that in the light of “changed economic scenario” it was decided to tweak the ‘Concessionaire Agreement’ in vogue to offer much “better conditions” to anyone coming forward to invest and build the Airport Metro project.

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Tata Pow er partners with Hyundai Motor for EVcharging Infrastructure in India

K-RIDE to procure 50 six- coach trains for B engaluru Suburban Rail on PPP model

Tata Power, one of India's largest integrated power companies and a leading EV charging infrastructure provider has entered into a strategic partnership with Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL), the country's first smart mobility solutions provider and the largest exporter since its inception, to build a robust EV charging network and accelerate the adoption of EVs across India. Through this association, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. would become a key contributor to the expansion of quality charging infrastructure.

The Rail Infrastructure Development Company of Karnataka Limited (K-RIDE) is planning to procure 300 coaches (50 six-coach trains) for the 148-km Bengaluru suburban rail network (four corridors). The procurement will be done on the PPP model, Due to this, the project cost would reduce from Rs 18,621 crore to Rs 15,767 crore.

The plan was revealed by K-RIDE during a stakeholders’ conference recently organized in the city for rolling stock procurement on a PPP basis. A total of 18 financial institutions/banks as well as 12 rolling stock manufacturers, including Alstom, Hyundai Rotem, Siemens, Hitachi Rail Ltd, etc. participated in the conference.

Indian Railways and IIT Madras to develop Hyperloop transportation system in India In a significant development, the Indian Railways and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras are jointly working to set up a center of excellence in the IIT-M campus for the development of Hyperloop Transportation Technology at a total estimated cost of Rs.8.34 crore.

Hyperloop technology is the 5th mode of transportation where a high-speed train in form of a capsule travels in a near-vacuum tube. The reduced air resistance allows the capsule inside the tube to reach speeds of more than 1,000 kilometers per hour.

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Indian Railways to invest ₹130 crores to boost production of 75 new Vande B harat Trains Indian Railways (IR) is planning to invest about Rs 130 crore in the capacity enhancement of manufacturing units to increase the production of Vande Bharat trains to meet its deadline to roll out 75 trains on the IR network by August 2023. This will ensure the manufacturing of six such trains every month compared to the current capacity of four trains, said officials.

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OPINION

Featured Article

The Bike-Taxi Alternative to Enhancing Urban Mobility in India  Dr. Ramanath Jha, ORF Despite concerted efforts to improve urban public transport, the use of personal vehicles has increased across India. City administrations must consider promoting the use of paratransit vehicles, such as bike-taxis, that can provide ridership to more commuters than a private vehicle. While bike-taxis are prevalent in some Indian citi es, their use is curtailed elsewher e in the country by state policy and statutes. Amid growing city congestion, bike-taxis are a convenient and affordable transit option that must be encouraged through a regulatory regime that builds in safety and prevents misuse.

I

n the context of urban transport, India placed greater emphasis on moving vehicles than on moving people until the beginning of the 21st century, resulting in an extensive neglect of the public transport sector. For instance, the share of buses in the country’s total motor vehicle fleet was 11 percent in 1951 but fell to a mere 1.1 percent in 2001, and the Kolkata Metro was the only urban metro service in India until December 2002 when the Delhi Metro began operations. In 2014, the Indian government formulated the National Urban Transport Policy, which prioritised mass public transport at both the central and state level, leading to the creation of more metro and bus rapid transit systems, and the expansion of bus fleets.

Thirty-four metro rail projects (at a cumulative length of 1230 km) were under implementation across the country at the end of 2021, and a combined 754-km of metro network was operational as of March 2022. For smaller metropolitan cities, ‘metrolite’ systems are being implemented as per the 2017 Metro Rail Policy. Additionally, about a dozen cities have bus rapid transit systems, with 35,000 operational buses, 80 percent of which are concentrated in eight cities alone.

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However, despite the attempt to boost and improve public transport, very few cities and towns in India have public transport—of the 450 cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, only 10 have suburban or metro rail service and about 65 cities have some form of formal bus transport. At the same time, the sale of private vehicles has grown steadily. Across India, the number of operational vehicles increased from 141.8 million in 2011 to 295.7 million in 2019. In 2010, 1.9 million cars were sold in the country, and India became one of the fastest-growing markets for cars globally, second only to China. In 2021, despite the pandemic challenge, car companies sent 3.82 million units to dealerships. Similarly, in 2019, 21 million units of two-wheelers were sold in the country, nearly double the 11.77 million units sold in 2011. This growth is perhaps attributable to the fall in prices of cars and twowheelers, rise in family incomes, easy availability of loans, WWW.URBANTRANSPORTNEWS.COM

and absence of strict laws restricting car ownership in cities.

Additionally, a 2021 survey indicated a shift towards personal vehicles due to the fear of using public transport arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

As urban spaces and private vehicle use grow across the country, it is prudent to consider alternative motorised modes of transport to ease congestion, such as intermediate public transport (or paratransit). Paratransit is a transportation service—such as taxis, autorickshaws, and bike-taxis—that supplements mass public transit systems by providing individualised rides without fixed routes or timetables. Urban activities are often spatially dispersed, and accessing these through mass public transit is timeWWW.URBANTRANSPORTNEWS.COM

consuming. As such, paratransit options can cater to work and leisure trips, or occasional (such as to airports and railway stations) and emergency trips, meeting first and last-mile connectivity needs as well as point-to-end trips. As relatively cheap modes of transport, paratransit options can make transportation more affordable and accessible for all. They are often available in ride-sharing forms and via mobile-based ride-hailing apps, enhancing their accessibility.

Among the several available paratransit alternatives in India, bike-taxis—motorbikes that operate as taxis—must be popularised for use. Although some Indian states have allowed bike - taxis to operate, many others are still URBAN TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE MAY 2022

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OPINION

considering the option, particularly because of the lack of clarity in the regulations regarding mobility as a service. This brief assesses the bike-taxi scenario in India and makes the case for enhanced bike-taxi usage to address urban mobility needs.

Bike-Taxis: The Indian Context Various countries around the world have permitted the use of motorbikes as taxis. Bike-taxis are particularly popular in Latin American countries, such as Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil. Indeed, most Brazilian cities have bike-taxi services, although they are unregulated in smaller towns and are under similar regulations as taxicabs in the larger cities.

considering the legalities of allowing bike-taxis to operate.

In 2004, the Indian government allowed motorbikes to be used as transport vehicles and their registration as such, thereby permitting motorbikes to carry one pillion passenger on hire. In 2016, a committee instated by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways concluded that state transport departments could allow two-wheeler taxi permits, similar to those issued for city taxis. The committee noted that allowing bike-taxis to operate would offer an economical and convenient last-mile connectivity solution to commuters and aid the economy as it would facilitate the utilisation of idle assets. The committee also presented bike-sharing guidelines, and a 2018 NITI Aayog report included several models on implementing bikesharing transit services.

Bike-taxis are widely prevalent in many Southeast Asian countries, such as Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, TimorLeste and Vietnam, particularly on account of the associated low costs and quick travel time. In Indonesia, bike-taxis (locally known as ojek) are popular as they save both time and money amid the massive traffic congestion in the cities. The entry of aggregators such as Gojek has helped formalise Indonesia’s bike-taxi sector. Thailand, meanwhile, has had a functioning bike-taxi sector for many years, and regulations were introduced in 2005.

Similarly, bike-taxis are also popular and widely used across Africa, in N igeria, Cameroon, Benin, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania.

As of end 2018, about 13 states and union territories in India had permitted bike-taxis to operate.

Regulatory landscape The legal position on bike-taxis in India is slightly complex.

As per the Constitution, road transport falls under the Concurrent List, thereby allowing both the Centre and state governments to frame and enforce rules and regulations on transport. The 1988 Motor Vehicles Act defines a ‘contract carriage’ as a motor vehicle that carries a passenger or passengers for hire or reward and is engaged under contract. The contract is entered into with a person who holds a permit, and the journey is performed from one point to another without stopping to pick up or drop off a passenger between those two points. Contract carriages include maxicabs (a motor vehicle that carries more than six but no more than 12 passengers, excluding the driver, for hire or reward) and motorcabs (a motor vehicle that carries a maximum of six passengers, excluding the driver, for hire or reward). Notably, as per the Act, a motor vehicle cannot have less than four wheels. As such, a two-wheeled motorbike does not fit the definition of a motor vehicle and, therefore, cannot operate as a contract carriage.

Nevertheless, government departments have long been

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(India’s first Bike Taxi service ‘M-Taxi’ launched by Arunabh Madhur)

In the light of these recommendations, and despite India not having a central legislation on bike-taxis, individual states can decide on allowing such transit services to operate. To be sure, while replying to a question on the legality of bike-taxis in parliament in December 2018, the Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways confirmed that states may issue permits for bike-taxis under sections 72 and 73 of the Motor Vehicles Act, and that the government was in favour of shared mobility, which will help reduce the congestion in cities and ease traffic jams.

Operational scenario In 1981, Goa became the first state to permit bikes to operate as commercial vehicles and notified 64 motorcycle taxi stands across the state. In 2016, Mizoram became the second state in India to allow bike-taxis to operate, stipulating that only bikes that were less than two years old and had a speed capability of 125cc or more would be eligible for permits. It also mandated that drivers wear a yellow helmet with the word ‘taxi’ written in red on the front and that the bike have a yellow registration plate.

In 2016, West Bengal permitted bike – taxis to operate as

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commercial vehicles after considering public suggestions and the central government’s recommendations. Bike-taxis can be registered as contract carriages in the state, provided the pillion rider is given a helmet and has minimal baggage during the travel. Operational limits in terms of distance and area have also been prescribed. Similarly, based on the central government’s recommendation, the government of Haryana has permitted the operation of bike taxis.

Karnataka banned the use of bikes-taxis in 2016 due to several instances of guidelines being violated, and aggregators were asked to approach the Road Transport Authority of India to obtain permission to operate a biketaxi. In July 2021, Karnataka permitted electric bike-taxis to operate in the state, with the aim of providing affordable first- and last-mile connectivity, promoting urban mobility, and assisting commuters to access public transport. The state government projected that greater flexible entrepreneurship opportunities will be generated. These factors led to the introduction of the Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi Scheme, 2021. As per the scheme, e-bike-taxi operations are restricted to agents and entities exclusively engaged in the business of providing e-bikes to passengers to hire for a journey; and individuals providing their own ebikes to passengers to hire for a journey. Notably, the scheme is applicable only to e-bikes and not to non-electric two-wheeler vehicles. It also stipulates a distance limit of 10 kms, prohibits the hiring of bikes by those under the age of 15, and prescribes the use of helmets and reflective jackets by the driver and passenger. Furthermore, the scheme requires that the name and details of the service provider be affixed on the exterior of the e-bike, and any aggregator operating more than 50 bike-taxis must mandatorily adopt GPS tracking of the vehicle. The scheme is in line with the Karnataka government’s objective to encourage the manufacture of e-vehicles in the state. Indeed, the scheme clearly states that one of its aims is to reduce pollution in cities and promote environmentfriendly transport solutions.

Maharashtra appear in favour of bike-taxis since it is a more affordable and convenient mode of transportation and aids in job creation.

The Case for Bike-Taxis The public acceptance of bike-taxis in many states are one of the several reasons why state governments must permit such paratransit services. As urbanisation intensifies, vehicle density in cities is certain to rise further, generating more traffic, congestion, and air pollution. In such a scenario, four-wheelers will struggle to operate, especially if travel time is of concern. The need for a smaller, faster, cheaper, and more convenient mode of transportation is best served by two-wheelers. The ability to navigate busy traffic and the low cost in comparison to cars have made two-wheelers a dominant feature of the Indian urban mobility landscape, such that they comprised 79 percent of all vehicles sold in the country in 2018. The success of the cab aggregator business model and the high demand for two-wheelers has improved the prospects for bike-taxis in the country. Additionally, India’s bike-taxi industry has the potential to generate over two million livelihood opportunities and about US$5 billion in revenue. Indeed, the advantages arising from permitting bike-taxis to operate can be summarised in the following points: • Providing first- and last-mile connectivity • Generating livelihood opportunities • Assisting the local economy • Providing greater affordability to commuters • Providing greater convenience to commuters through quick availability • Saving time by better ability to navigate traffic congestion • Helping commuters reach areas inaccessible by fourwheelers • Easing traffic woes in cities • Improving linkage with public transit systems • Ability to ply on difficult terrain • Ability to integrate with app-based platforms • Providing demand responsive and real-time services

In early 2022, Maharashtra’s transport commissioner said that the state is considering granting permission to bike-taxi services, but will first conduct a study to assess the vehicular density of cities in the state and the feasibility of the service. However, for now, bike-taxi operations in Maharashtra are prohibited and violations are punishable. For instance, in February 2022, Pune city officials seized 250 two-wheelers that were operating as a bike-taxi service.

India is a ripe market for micromobility, transportation over short distances provided by lightweight, usually single-person vehicles such as bicycles and scooters. Most of India’s smaller cities and towns have very limited or no public transport, and where available, these are mostly unviable for shorter journeys. Moreover, first- and last-mile connectivity provisions are generally weak. Micromobility options like bike-taxis can fill this gap.

While considering permitting bike-taxis, states must also contend with potential opposition from taxi and autorickshaw unions. In Maharashtra and Karnataka, for instance, taxi and autorickshaw unions have been protesting developments to allow bike-taxis to run as commercial transport vehicles as this will certainly impact their services. Nevertheless, commuters in Karnataka and

Indeed, bike-taxis already have a sizeable presence in the states where they are allowed to operate, and aggregators have played a crucial role in their uptake. For instance, Ola Bike, which first began operations in Gurgaon, Faridabad, and Jaipur in 2016, is now available in 200 cities and towns, and assesses that the real potential for bike-taxis is in India’s smaller towns and cities, where people are

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OPINION

experiencing on-demand transportation for the first time. Similarly, Uber operates bike-taxi services in 30 cities, with plans to expand to 200 others. Rapido, functioning exclusively in the two-wheeler rental space, has its bike taxi services in 100 cities in India.

Needed regulation As bike-taxis become more prevalent, governments must introduce regulations on the aspects of safety and emissions. The safety related rules can include: a vehicle fitness certificate for the bike; prescribed speed limits; a minimum age for the driver; service providers must have insurance coverage, both for accident and death, for the driver and the passenger; drivers should be given mandatory safety training by the service provider; carrying of a first-aid kit and helmets for the passengers; provision of mandatory GPS tracking; emergency response numbers; and maximum number of hours a driver should operate.

Additionally, as working women have shown a greater inclination to use bike-taxis, certain rules must be adopted to ensure their safety, such as conducting a thorough background check of the drivers, employing more women drivers, GPS tracking, and SOS services.

Bike-taxis will need to be climate-friendly and mandated to adhere to emission standards. All non-electric bike-taxis will have to be phased out gradually and replaced by ebike-taxis. Bike-taxis will also need to be integrated with public transport through route rationalization.

Additionally, traffic regulation must be an area of focus while permitting bike-taxis. Differentiated and higher penal provisions for traffic rule violations by bike-taxis should be considered.

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Conclusion As India’s cities grow and congestion increases, it is imperative to adopt modes of travel other than private transport. The expansion of public transport services is already underway in several major cities to cater to the rising mobility needs, and these are being made available at reasonable rates. Paratransit vehicles such as bike-taxis can be considered as an additional transport alternative, given their utility in terms of time and cost for certain kinds of travel. Crucially, bike-taxis will provide a positive impetus to the urban economy and generate much-needed employment opportunities.

There is no doubt that commuters will benefit from the addition of bike-taxis to their choices of transport, even as their deployment may face opposition from other transport unions, such as those of taxis and autorickshaws. Greater competition could improve the quality of travel experience for commuters. Given that the central government has encouraged the use of this paratransit service, it is imperative that states enact the necessary rules to govern the operation of bike-taxis, striking a balance between safety, emissions, and commuter convenience. *** (Dr. Ramana th Jha is Distinguished Fellow a t Observer Resea rch Founda tion, Mumbai. He works on urbanisa tion — urba n sustainability, urban governance and urban planning.)

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Alternative Mobility - A Must Have For Indian Cities  Prerna V. Mehta, Lead- Urban Development, WRI India and Abhishek B ehera, Consultant – Sustainable Cities and Transport , WRI India

revealed that less than 10% of Indians meet the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation of weekly 150 minutes of physical activity. The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted this further, and emphasized on the need of physical activities and availability for walking and cycling infrastructure for all.

Other concerns like transport-related air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions continue to mar Indian cities and further the urgent need to create an environment where people are more climate conscious and willing to switch to alternate mobility.

Why a walking and cycling plan?

A

ccording to World Road Statistics 2018, out of the 199 countries analyzed, India has the maximum number of road accidents and accounts for 11% of the world’s road accident related deaths, 84.7% of which occurred in the “economically productive” age group of 18-60 years. India also reported a total of 17.4% pedestrian and cyclists’ death in 2018. Cities that have promoted planning for walking and cycling, and have created infrastructure to support the same have seen significant increase in road safety. Along with road safety, lack of physical activities has also been a growing public health concern in cities. A pre-pandemic study by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)

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The 11th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and The New Urban Agenda aims at creating safe, accessible, inclusive, and affordable systems for cities especially for pedestrian and cycle users. Walking and cycling, often classified together as active transportation or alternative mobility or non-motorized transport, are considered healthier modes of transportation. They are cost efficient, clean modes with low (or no) greenhouse gas emissions. Besides, a comprehensively planned and designed transportation network, an increased emphasis on walking and cycling has the potential to create decentralized cities or 15-minute cities that encourage safe alternative mobility within vibrant mixed-use neighborhoods while mitigating related climate change impacts.

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OPINION

Cities like Toronto have developed climate change resiliency goals for 2050 and one of its goals for transportation sector is to have 75% of the trips within 5km by active transportation only. It is also investing in infrastructure and programs to support safe cycling and walking in an equitable manner including upgrading of existing network, developing ‘Bicycle Parking Strategy’ and ‘Vision Zero Road Safety Plan’.

Essentials of walking and cycling plan

While developing walking and cycling plans, cities need to adapt to their local conditions and demands. They must carry out scientific assessments based on their socioeconomic fabric including demography, employment densities, land uses as well as with transportation related data. Other areas including the existing terrain, weather conditions, along with safety concerns such as road crashes, traffic volumes and speed, etc., should be factored in to better identify and prioritize interventions.

Some key features of an ideal walking-cycling plan are listed below: Coverage, Continuity and Capacity: Pedestrians and cyclists are often forced to walk on the carriage way in mixed traffic due to absence of sidewalks and demarcated cycle lanes. It is desirable to have an infrastructure that connects widely through a network of primary, secondary and tertiary road networks. It is neither practical nor desirable for the coverage of each mode of transport network to be as extensive as the other, however, care must be taken to prioritize pedestrian network including provision of safe crossings of adequate widths.

Care must also be taken to ensure that the network is continuous, at the same grade as much as possible, and easily identifiable (either through material difference, paints, height difference or barriers). It is often a hassle for old people and persons with disability to navigate through discontinuous sidewalks which are created to allow vehicular entries into properties. Similarly, sidewalks that are higher than the road level and the ramps (if any) are not at the correct gradient, become unsuitable for wheelchair access.

Cities and neighborhoods aren’t designed to be homogenous. Different types of land uses see varying levels of footfall through different times of the day. High density areas of the city will have higher number of users than other parts. This raises concerns about the capacity of the existing infrastructure. Common solutions include realignment of right-of-way (ROW) to create a cycle lane or expand the sidewalk, eliminating on-street parking in some stretches, creating one-way street networks, etc.

Safety and Awareness: Safety and security of road users

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can be planned and designed better using Safe System approach and traffic-calming elements through enforcement and design. Streets adjacent to active frontages create a sense of security with ‘eyes on the streets’. Typical strategies adopted by cities include segregating cycle lanes as raised cycle tracks or separating using permanent bollards and buffers, speed zoning, using restrictive and regulatory means to reduce vehicular speeds, pedestrian only streets, shares streets etc. Other measures include creating separate greenways and trails along nature corridors, utility easements or defunct infrastructure like old railway corridors. Atlanta has designed networks of multi-use trails including the Atlanta BeltLine and PATH400 trails to create nearly 45km of trail system that is spread over the city and connects to the existing smaller corridors.

Ensuring safety for pedestrians, cyclists and other road users requires knowing the road safety rules and regulations as well as being aware of the benefits of switching to active transportation modes. City authorities and governments should carry out awareness programs to educate citizens about safety protocols and road signages.

Initiatives to promote cycling and walking as part of local and daily commute such as Raahgiri, ciclovia, car-free days and other similar programs, are also helpful.

Funding opportunities and investment plans: Budget allocated for transportation network expansions often goes into creating roadways and additional travel lanes for vehicles. Even when investments are made towards creating public transport such as mass transit rail or bus services, it often overlooks first and last mile connectivity, ensuring walking and cycling access to the services. Cities must ensure that a percentage of the budget (and revenue from toll taxes and traffic fines) is dedicated towards developing and improving safe walking and cycling networks that are prioritized over personal motor vehicular use.

Supporting infrastructure: It is prudent to ensure the built infrastructure is durable and long-lasting with due maintenance. The support of ancillary infrastructure and programs also goes a long way. A good network of cycle lanes requires access to cycles – through public bike sharing or rental programs, cycle donation drives etc and public parking facilities that are adequate, safe and available at regular distances. In Delhi, the bike share system designed around the Connaught Place commercial district doesn’t work efficiently due to absence of marked cycle lanes forcing the cyclists to ride in the service lanes or on sidewalks or share vehicular lanes with high speed traffic.

Similarly, a mere provision of sidewalks doesn’t ensure safety. It must be integrated with safe crossings at intersections that are placed every 150-200 metres or integrated with mid-block crossings particularly at ingress and egress points of high footfall areas.

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Boosting Employment and Accessibility Investing in India’s Public Transport Sector  UITP

Public transport is an essential part of Indian cities as it provides affordable access to mobility for two-thirds of Indian households which don’t own a personal car or a two-wheeler. The sector also employs as many as 10 million people and hence is one of the largest creators of local jobs across the country. The coronavirus pandemic has severely impacted the public transport sector due to a prolonged shut down of operations during the lockdowns and the gradual resumption of services, starting only recently with many service providers yet to reach pre-Covid service levels. Even as the services resume with adequate cleaning and sanitisation protocols, the ridership levels are

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yet to reach pre-Covid levels due to the combined effect of subdued economic activity, increased preference to conduct work and educational activities from home and users’ perceived risk of contracting the virus. Given the large public transport-dependant population, Indian cities need to resume pre-pandemic levels of service and take up confidence-building measures to reassure users.

The public transport sector needs financial assistance from national, state and city-level governments to address the losses incurred due to Covid-19, to be able to continue providing the services needed to meet users’ requirements.

Cities around the world are implementing various measures such as financial aid and contractual rearrangements to support public transport systems in their financial recovery. However, the financial support to Indian public transport systems has been limited so far. In this context, this Policy Brief evaluates the impact of alternative transport sector investments being made by governments in India to make the case for increased investments in public transport, given their additional benefits.

An Economic Boost in the wake of CO VID-19 India’s gross domestic product (GDP) has fallen sharply by 23.9% in the first quarter of financial year (FY) 2020- 21 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the lockdowns and limited economic activity even beyond the lockdowns. This has already led to the loss of more than 130 million jobs and the trend is likely to continue over the next year. The WWW.URBANTRANSPORTNEWS.COM

SPECIAL STUDY

Economic Advisory Council (EAC) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recommended spending big on infrastructure to stimulate the economic activity and create jobs. The EAC proposed to use the INR 100 lakh Cr ($1,333bn) National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) created by the NITI Aayog as the reference document to guide the economic stimulus. The transport section of the NIP focuses solely on improving road infrastructure and doesn’t have budgetary provision for other modes of transport.

Simultaneously, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) is advocating for a stimulus to support the auto industry, citing that they’re among the largest employers in the country. The Government of India has also indicated the development of a scrappage policy to incentivise older vehicles with newer, more environmentally friendly ones, which also helps increase vehicle sales and boosts the auto industry.

While the popular discourse focuses on investments in road building and supporting the auto industry, there’s limited public discourse on the support needed for the public transport sector. At the same time, the various areas of economic stimulus mentioned above are currently being discussed independently with limited analysis on their relative benefits. Given the resource-constrained environment in which central and state governments are operating currently, it is important to prioritise investments to the sectors with the maximum impact. To support such prioritisation in the transport sector, we present a comparative evaluation of the short-term benefits likely to be accrued from government investments among the following options: 1. Investment in road infrastructure development 2. Investments to support the auto industry 3. Investment in bus service improvements.

Analysing the benefits of alternative investment choices UITP has already assessed the long-term impacts of alternative investments in the transport sector and established that public transport investments yield up to twice the social, economic and environmental benefits and jobs delivered by a highway improvement project.

Available literature on short-term investments like stimulus packages also point to similar results: The International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) recent report, Jobs in green and healthy transport, concludes that public transport investments create two to three times more local jobs in the transport sector compared to the auto-manufacturing sector. Similarly, assessments of transportation funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in 2009 showed that public transport created 31% more jobs compared to road infrastructure development projects. However, we couldn’t find a similar assessment for the Indian transportation scenario.

To address gaps in the available literature, we used a wide range of secondary data sources to compare the benefits WWW.URBANTRANSPORTNEWS.COM

accumulated from government investments in the three transport sub-sectors listed above using FY 2016-17 as the reference year. The number of mandays of jobs created and the number of people with increased access to mobility were derived and compared to evaluate the return on investments. The supplementary annexe explains the data sources and methodology adopted to derive the results presented below in further detail.

Evaluating employment generation and accessibility benefits of alternative investments The table below one summarises the employment generation and access to mobility benefits likely to be derived through a government stimulus of INR 10,000 Cr ($1.33bn) for the three transport sub-sectors evaluated, based on results from investments made in FY 2016-17.

Type of investment for a budget of INR 10,000 Cr ($1.33bn)

Mandays of employment generated (million)

Access to mobility (billion passenger-trips)

Investments in road Infrastructure development

3.2

2.8

Stimulus to automobile industry

41.8

0.4

Stimulus to improve public bus services

110.4

10.6

As shown, the bus sector provides more employment opportunities than the auto industry. Public bus services generate 110.4 million (11.04 Crore) mandays of employment for INR 10,000 Cr ($1.33b) of investment while the auto industry and road-infra development create 41.8 million (4.18 crore) mandays and 3.2 million (0.32 crore) mandays of employment respectively. Therefore, buses generate 2.6 times the mandays of jobs generated per unit investment in the auto industry and 34.5 times the mandays of jobs generated per unit investment in road infrastructure development.

In addition, the bus sector can provide better access to mobility. Public bus services are likely to cater to 10.6 billion passenger trips for the proposed investment while auto industry and road-infra development investments are likely to cater to 0.4 billion and 2.8 billion passenger trips respectively. Buses provide access to mobility to 3.8 times more people compared to investments in roads and 26.5 times more people compared to investments in the auto industry. As a result, investments in road infrastructure development generate the least number of jobs and investments in the automobile industry provides the least access to mobility.

The results clearly establish that investments in public bus services yield the best return on investments in terms of URBAN TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE MAY 2022

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both employment generation and access to mobility. It is recommended that the government stimulus to the transport sector is focused on improving public bus services to ensure maximum returns on investment.

Gaps in the current discourse on investments in India’s Transport Sector While our analysis establishes public transport as the investment with the best returns, the popular discourse on the transport sector investments is focused more on roadinfrastructure developments and stimulus to the auto sector in the form of a vehicle scrappage programme. We’d like to highlight the following gaps in the arguments presented.

jobs are estimated to be created by the auto-component manufacturing industry, which is predominantly under the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) category which has already received significant stimulus from the government. The remaining 26.8 million are indirect jobs such as vehicle drivers, insurance agents and so on which are hard to verify. The 5.2 million direct jobs in the auto sector are about half of the 10 million direct employment in the bus and taxi sector and is still lower than the 5.6 million jobs created just by the owners and operators of the 5.6 million registered three-wheelers.

Gaps in the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) The NIP by NITI Aayog takes the global competitiveness index (GCI) of the World Economic Forum as the basis for reforms in India and recommends road development as the key objective. This is despite India’s higher score on road connectivity than quality of available roads, train connectivity and services. While improved global competitiveness is desirable in the long run, we believe that the government’s stimulus package should target shorterterm objectives like benefitting the maximum people through employment and accessibility benefits. India already has the second highest road density in the world, after France. Even in 2019, the Government of India identified that the investments made in new highways aren’t financially viable, as the travel demand isn’t adequate to generate the toll revenues needed to break even.

Given the already high road network connectivity and the poor financial outlook for upcoming highways, it is recommended that national and state investments reallocate some of their road infrastructure development expenditure and instead focus on public transport improvements to deliver better employment and accessibility benefits.

O verestimation of the Auto Industry’s contribution to job creation It is commonly quoted in the media that the auto industry employs 37 million people and this statistic is commonly leveraged to call them as a key job creator and hence the need for government investments to support the sector.

However, data from the Periodic labour force survey from the organised sector and the national sample survey (73rd Round) for the informal sector analysed by the Research Unit for Political Economy (RUPE) establishes that this is an overestimate16. Direct jobs in the auto sector, including formal and informal employment in manufacturing, sales, repair and servicing form only 5.2 million out of the 37 million claimed by the industry. An additional 5 million

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In summary, passenger transport services in the form of bus, taxi and three-wheelers currently provide direct employment to about three times the number of people compared to the number of people employed in the auto sector. Hence, investments in passenger transport services are likely to have a more direct impact on the livelihoods of people and will create local jobs across the country, compared to concentrated jobs in the auto-manufacturing clusters.

Pitfalls of the proposed Vehicle Scrappage Policy The Government of India has also expressed its intent to launch a vehicle scrappage policy that recommends providing financial incentives to users in a bid to scrap old and polluting vehicles from Indian roads and to stimulate demand for the auto industry.

Vehicular pollution is a combination of the emission standard of vehicles used and their level of usage (km travelled). Analysis of urban passenger vehicles in cities and intercity freight vehicles show that the most used and hence the most polluting vehicles in Indian cities are already young, with about 90% of the vehicles being less than 10 years old and unlikely to be qualifying for the scrappage programme.

Furthermore, the daily-km travelled by vehicles older than 10 years is at least 80% lesser compared to new vehicles.

The lower share of the older fleet and their lower usage pattern together results in them having a lesser share of

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overall transport emissions. Learnings from international vehicle scrappage programmes such as Cash for Clunkers in the USA show that the programme resulted in increased sales of SUVs and diesel cars to replace old and smaller cars. This further accelerated oil demand and air pollution.

Hence, a scrappage policy needs to be tied to ambitious fuel economy regulations to trigger innovation and accelerate the electric vehicle industry. It can also be linked to specific geographies with high air pollution, like the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) initiatives being pursued in Europe to reduce congestion and enhance air quality.

Conclusions Public transport is an essential service for about two-thirds of Indian households which don’t own a personal vehicle.

Therefore public transport services need to be sustained through the Coronavirus pandemic to ensure universal access to jobs, schools and other services and in the process, support India’s economic recovery.

However, many transit operators are witnessing up to 90% drop in their revenues due to a sharp decline demand caused by a combination of limited economic activity during and post-lockdown, and users’ perceived risk of virus transmission while using public transport. Urgent measures to improve the service levels and to attract users back to public transport are needed. However, the financial stress caused to public transport service providers has

severely impacted their chances of sustainability through the pandemic and beyond.

The Government of India and the states are faced with alternative pathways to provide an economic stimulus to the transport sector such as improving road infrastructure, supporting the auto industry and investing in better public transport. This Policy Brief sought to understand the relative benefits of investments in these alternatives by providing a comparative assessment.

The analysis establishes that the direct employment and accessibility benefits of investment on buses significantly outweigh investments in road infrastructure development and a stimulus to the auto industry. Bus investments generate 2.6 times more employment compared to an equivalent investment in the auto industry and provide access to mobility to 3.7 times more people compared to investments on roads.

In this context, we recommend that the Government of India and states prioritise public transport investments as they plan for investments to stimulate economic activity, thereby ensuring the sustainability of the transit agencies and at the same time maximising benefits derived from the investments, such as access to mobility and employment. ***

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INTERVIEW

Dr. B rijesh Dixit is an acclaimed Railway Administrator, efficient infrastructure builder and urban transport prof essional. Presently h eading Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. as Managing Director and leading the Nagpur and Pune Metro R ail projects from th e front. H e was associat ed with Indian Railway for over 30 years including association with Mumbai suburban and urban rail transport for over 15 years, at various levels covering planning, designing, constructing and maintaining larg e scale rail infrastructures & operation of services and administration of institutions on both Western and Central Railways.

In a recent conversation with Metro Rail Today, he shared the current status of various metro rail & urban transportation systems being implemented in Maharashtra under his leadership.

“

While Metros offer tremendous economic and environmental benefits to the city and Society but face a difficult long-term financial sustainability challenge that needs to be met successfully to sustain the metro project in a long run. Fare-box revenue is inadequate to meet all the apex. Therefore, the world over a lot of emphases is given to the Non-fare revenue.

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First, kindly accept our hearti est congratulations on the opening of the long-awaited Pune Metro Rail Project.

What are your next priorities and when the remaining sections of these lines will be commissioned?

Two lines of the Pune Metro Rail Project were inaugurated at the hands of Hon Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 6th March 2022. Of the total project length of 33.28km, 12 km section has been made operational. The proposed timeline for completion of the remaining sections of the Pune Metro is as follows: • Reach 1&4 (Phugewadi-Civil Court): 6.91km (June 2022) • Reach 2 (Garware-Civil Court): 2.38km (June 2022) • Reach 3 (Civil Court -Ramwadi): 8.37km (Dec, 2022) • Reach 4 (Civil Court to Swargate): 3.62km (March 2023)

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INTERVIEW

Maha Metro has been recently appointed consultants for conducting a survey and traffic study of Phase 2 of the Pune Metro Rail Project. What’s the current progress of study? Please highlight new corridors/extensions planned under Phase 2.

Firstly, as part of Pune Metro Phase-I itself, two extensions of the North-South corridor have been approved by Govt. of Maharashtra. i) PCMC–Nigdi length about 4.5 km. ii) Swargate-Katraj underground length is about 5.5 km. They now need GoI sanctions for their execution. Secondly, Govt. of Maharashtra has given a mandate to Maha Metro for the preparation of DPRs for Pune Metro Phase 2 for six lines of about 47 km. They are: • Swargate to Khadakwasla: 13 km • SNDT to Warje: 8 km • Ramwadi to Wagholi: 12 km • Swargate to Hadapsar: 7 km • Hadapsar – Kharadi: 5 km • Vanaz to Chandani Chowk: 2 km (Total Length: 47 km) PCMC • Bhosari to Chakan: 22 km

Thirdly, PMC has given a mandate to Maha Metro for the preparation of DPR of Metro Neo on the earlier proposed route of circular HCMTR of the length of 36 km in the PMC area.

Fourthly, PCMC has given a mandate to Maha Metro for the preparation of DPR of Metro Neo on the earlier proposed route of circular HCMTR of a length of 28 km in the PCMC area. It has been submitted to Govt. of Maharashtra for approval.

The proposed corridors run along the major arterial roads of the city and will provide the commuters with clean, safe, and faster transit. The DPR study is progressing well and most of the required surveys have been completed. The draft DPR should be ready in about 3-4 months, after which the required approvals will be taken.

Are you also taking interest in Pune Metro Line 3 being implemented under th e PPP model? When will this line be commissioned for the Public?

This line is being executed by Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA).

Maha Metro is currently working on the implementation of various metro rail projects in Maharashtra and consequently, you have a variety of issues on your plate.

What do you think is the most important issue that has to be tackled while keeping the interests of the project in mind?

While Metros offer tremendous economic and environmental benefits to the city and Society but face a difficult long-term financial sustainability challenge that needs to be met successfully to sustain the metro project in a long run. Fare-box revenue is inadequate to meet all the apex. Therefore, the world over a lot of emphases is given to the Non-fare revenue. Sources such as Transit-Oriented Development (ToD), Land Value Capture, Property Development, etc. are focused upon in this aspect.

Also, Optimization of cost and avoiding time overruns are the most important factors to be tackled for the success of Metro Rail projects.

A large section of commuters is eagerly waiting for the commissioning of the Navi Mumbai Metro project.

Please throw some light on the current status and completion target of Phase 1 of Line 1.

Navi Mumbai Metro project is being implemented by CIDCO. However, they have mandated Maha Metro to take care of the balance of work and Operations & Maintenance for a period of 10 years for Line 1 (From Belapur Pendhar of 11 km length and 11 stations). The Metro corridor from Central Park to Pendhar having a 5.20 km length with 05 stations has been completed and CMRS certification is obtained. The stretch is likely to be commissioned and opened to the public very soon.

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What is the current status of the Nashik Metro Neo project and when the construction of this project will be commenced?

What is the current status of the procurement plan of Rolling Stock for this unique and ambitious project? ReplyMetro Neo is a very innovative concept being implemented for the very first time in the country and anywhere globally in this format. Govt. of Maharashtra has approved Nashik Metro Neo Project and it is currently with the Govt. of India at an advanced stage of sanction.

I am happy to tell you that, now Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, GoI has adopted Metro Neo for nationwide adaption and has issued standard specifications for that.

Maha Metro will be implementing this project under the Make in India policy. A detailed procurement plan shall be worked out after GoI sanctions the project. However, a number of companies have expressed their willingness to manufacture the rolling stock and other equipment required for the project under the Make in India policy including BHEL Ltd, Titagarh Wagons Ltd, and Tata Motors Ltd, etc.

We can see that most Metro projects have missed their completion deadlines and consequent escalation in costs, how are you planning to mobilize funds for the projects?

I am very happy to say that both Pune Metro and Nagpur metro projects have not missed the deadlines except for some minor impacts due to the pandemic Covid. Nagpur Metro Projects with a network of 38 Kms is at the completion stage whereas Pune Metro has very recently started its commercial operation on 6th March 2022 after Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi had flagged off the maiden metro train. 12 km of the total 33.28 km have been opened for the public in Pune.

In both the projects, there is no major escalation of cost except for Land acquisition which has been acquired after the new LAPA Act, and foreign exchange and inflation beyond the provision of DPR during the intervening period.

With the growing population and the pressure on infrastructure in the Metropolis like Nagpur, Pune and Nashik etc., what would you advise urban planners on ways to ease urban mobility?

The urban planners should focus on the proper Land use policies including Transit Oriented Development (ToD), land value capture etc. so that the mass transit projects undertaken would have a long-term financial and environmental sustainability.

What is your take on our publications i.e. Metro Rail Today and Urban Transport News? Is there anything about the publications you think we could do better?

You are doing well and I wish you all the best. ***

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URBAN INFRA BUSINESS SUMMIT AND AWARDS 2022 SEPTEMBR 9, 2022 | HOTEL SHANGRI-LA | NEW DELHI, INDIA

To celebrate India’s 75th anniversary of Independence with Industry leaders, Urban Infra Communication Pvt. Ltd. (India's first Infra PR, Media & Research Company) in collaboration with leading industries, corporates and media platforms, is pleased to announce the second edition of Urban Infra Business Summit & Awards 2022 (previously known as Rail Infra and Mobility Business Leadership Awards). This program will also honour and recognize industry leaders (individuals and corporates) for their extraordinary contribution in developing major infrastructure projects in nation-building through their innovative ideas, products, and services.

Apart from this, we will launch a special coffee table book dedicating “Top 75 Leaders Transforming India’s Urban Infrastructure” during the Summit & Awards.

KEY DATES     

Nominations for Awards (Closing Date): 30 June, 2022 Announcement of Awardees: 15 August, 2022 Delegate Registration: 1 June – 30 August , 2022 Awards Ceremony: 9 September, 2022 Venue: Hotel Shangri-La Eros, New Delhi, India

Eligibility & Nomination Guidelines  Nominations invited in two categories – Individual and Corporate  Nominations are open to all individuals/businesses (Govt./Non-Govt.) irrespective of their age and the size of the business.  The individual nominee should have either in working or retired from the capacity of senior management positions such as MD, CEO, Director, President, Vice President, GM etc.  The nominee must have at least one representative office/person in India and be engaged in development oriented infrastructure projects.  The nomination form must be filled out either by nominee or authorized representatives.  More than one nomination can be submitted from a company or firm.

Selection Procedure  The winners will be selected by a jury comprising of industry experts and our editorial advisory board.  The evaluation will be done based on their contribution and innovative achievements irrespective of the age of the person/business entity.  Criteria to be considered by the selection committee include use of latest innovation & technology , r esult-oriented products & solutions, strong leadership and outstanding track record in the Industry.  The winners will be awarded an artistic trophy along with a 'Certificate of Appreciation’ in presence of renowned industry leaders.  Profile of the winner may be featured in special Coffee Table book.

How to submit nominations

Nomination Fee*

Step 1: Fi ll Nomination Form Online Step 2: Receive Invoice for Pa yment of Nominations Fee Step 3: Pa y Nomi nation Fee a nd Get Confirmation E-mail

(*100% nomination fee is refundable, in case of non-selection for the award.)

INR 35,000 + GST, USD 500

Launching of Special Coffee Table Book

INDUSTRY COVERED

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Rail & Metro

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City Infrastructure

>

EPC & Construction

>

Transit & Mobility

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PMC & Consultancy

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OEM & Dealers

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Allied Industry

SUMMIT THEME Investment, Financing and Business Avenues in Urban Railways, Infrastructure and Mobility Industry in India (Challenges & Solutions) GUESTS AND SPEAKERS INVITED FROM  Nodal Ministries: Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Ministry of Railway, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Ministry of Power etc.  Think Tanks: NITI Aayog, NIUA, WRI, CSTEP, RECUS, CURE, ORF etc.  Rail & Metro Operators: Indian Railways, APMRC, BMRC, CMRL, CMRTS, DMRC, DFCCIL, GMRC, G-RIDE, HMRL, HRIDC, HSRCI, JMRC, K-RIDE, KMRC, KMRL, K-Rail, Konkan Railway, MMRDA, MMRC, Maha Metro, Maha Rail, MRVC, NCRTC, NHSRCL, NMRC, PMRC, UPMRC, UkMRC etc.  State Transport Authorities, Bus Operators , Bus Manufacturers etc.  Project Management Consul tants (PMC): RITES, Systra, EGIS Rail, AECOM, Typsa, Louise Berger, DB E&C, Hill International etc.  Rolling Stock Manufacturers: ICF, BEML, Alstom, Siemens, Hitachi, CAF, Titagarh Wagons, Hyundai Rotem etc.  Steel Industry: SAIL, JSPL, Jindal Stainless etc.  Construction Firms: RVNL, IRCON, L&T, Afcons, KEC, J Kumar, ITD, Tata Projects, Dilip Buildcon etc.  Ticketing & Payment Solution providers: IRCTC, RuPay, NPCI, VISA, SBI, ICICI, PayTM, Airtel etc.  E-Mobility Startups: Mahindra Electric, Hero Electric, Switch Mobility, Sun Mobility etc.  Infra Financing Institutions: JICA, World Bank, ADB, NDB, AIIB, KfW, EIB etc.  Members of Corporate Groups: FICCI, i-Metro, CII, ASSOCHAM, UITP, UIC etc.  Training Institutions: IUT, NRTI, HSTI, IMRT etc.

DELEGATES PROFILE        

Ministries/Govt. Department Railway Authorities/Boards High Speed Rail Authorities Metro Rail Authorities Rail Operators Station Development First & Last-Mile Service Providers Railway Freight & Logistics Operators

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Architects, City/Town Planners Policy Makers/Regulators PPP Units & Financing Bodies Development Agencies Consultants/Transport Planners Contractors/Infrastructure Developers R&D Organizations OEMs, Suppliers & Allied Industry

KEY BENEFITS  Recognition: Our award program will help you to get name & fame and high level visibility in the Industry for your innovative ideas, products & solutions.

 Presentation: An opportunity to present your Ideas, Innovation and latest offering to the entire audience. You can either present a 15-20-minute keynote with the case study presentation or a 5-minute elevator pitch.  Busine ss Showcasing: The summit gives you the opportunity to display your wide range of latest innovation products and services to Corporate-level executives and relevant buyers.

 Panel Discussions: Interactive panel discussions with expert opinions to address the most critical challenges facing the industry.  Networking: 5 star luncheons and breakfast provides a perfect setting for meeting and networking with the who’s who of the rail, metro, urban infrastructure & mobility industries ecosystem.

OPINION

Featured Article

How is the Mass Rapid Transport System ensuring Inclusivity for Persons with Disabilities?  Monica Thakur, NIUA

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n efficient transportation system is indispensable for any kind of development at an individual, city, state and national level.

Today’s unparalleled technology boom is changing mobility and communication. With this technology boom, it has become easier and possible to provide for and facilitate Persons with Disabilities, who were earlier barred from accessing many services and opportunities. Economic independence is a prerequisite for everybody to not only fulfil their basic survival needs but also for growing and moving up the socio-economic ladder with time. An inclusive transport system ensures access to places of paramount importance that hold the key to the socio-economic and inclusive development of all individuals.

This is rightly elaborated by Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo, Global Advisor on Disability, World Bank, "You have to think of transport as an equalizer, a catalyst that facilitates access to many other sectors. Mobility improvements are key because transport gives you access to jobs, schools, healthcare, markets, and leisure".

International Urban Mobility and Inclusivity

Seattle and Washington D.C. are two among many international examples of transport inclusivity and PwD

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friendliness in urban mobility.

Seattle's rail systems make access to the transport vehicle manageable through the provision of lifts and escalators right up to the point of boarding the rail cars.

Accessing the rail car can be challenging due to an illdesigned threshold posing danger escalators right up to the point of boarding the rail cars. Accessing the rail car can be challenging due to an ill-designed threshold posing danger to anyone’s life, hence, to minimize this threat and ensure ease of access, the rail car floor is at the same level as the platform without any gaps between the platform and the rail. Furthermore, there are wheelchair taxis available with ramps at the door for moving in and out with ease. Seattle's Sound Transit(ST) Express buses have lower floors, equipped with ramps to climb inside, other than this moving, standing, sitting and balancing inside the bus is supported by handrails and straps. There are two points WWW.URBANTRANSPORTNEWS.COM

inside all the buses where passengers using wheelchairs or other mobility devices can secure themselves for a safe and comfortable ride. For all the above-mentioned transport systems, trained operators and conductors are present to offer assistance for getting on and off the vehicles upon request from passengers. Apart from this, all buses and trains in Seattle display visual and auditory announcements about upcoming stops and stations.

Washington D.C. is considered to be one of the most disabled-friendly and accessible cities in the world. It has good accessibility across the available transportation systems similar to Seattle's and also features a designated handicap parking facility for double the metered time or in WWW.URBANTRANSPORTNEWS.COM

time-restricted spaces. Along with PwD sensitive physical infrastructure with wheelchair lifts extending up to platforms it also provides discounted fares to PwDs through its Metro Disability ID Card. The city has a considerable amount of scooters, wheelchairs and kneewalker rental services with flexible rental timings available in the city. These services and PwD friendly infrastructure of Washington D.C. makes its tourist spots very well connected, paving a way for social inclusion.

Indian Urban Mobility and Inclusivity According to the Census of India 2011, there are over 26 million Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) i.e. 2.1 per cent of URBAN TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE MAY 2022

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the total population. Of this, 30.5 per cent of the total PwD population reside in the urban areas, among which around 2.7 million is the working population meaning 33.3 per cent have access to some form of transport facilities for commuting. As India is addressing its rising transportation sector demand, many transport projects and major corridors for improved connectivity are being built with an emphasis on road and rail projects, specifically MRTS. Since some prevalent MRTS namely mono, metro rails and buses are successfully running in Tier 1 Indian cities, Tier 2 cities are also adopting them now to make the service accessible to everyone. Due to MRTS’s capability of transporting a higher amount of load at once and in a shorter period, it has proven to not only sustain the environment but also sustain any marginalised community by empowering them socio-economically. If an average transportation system creates hurdles and daily struggles for its commuters, then, for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) it translates into the transportation service either becoming difficult to use or non-usable at all. Hence, extending the MRTS service for Persons with Disabilities becomes important.

India has largely remained clouded by religious and spiritual beliefs asserting that PwDs deserve the fate they are bestowed with. Along with this, stigmas such as ‘PwDs cannot carry out tasks on their own’ still exist, which automatically gives rise to the idea that they require constant human support to do most of the activities. As a result of this sympathetic gaze, negligence towards creating infrastructure is seen due to either lack of knowledge or due to doubts surrounding that it will be seldomly used. Such conditions make creating and ensuring the use of services meant for societal upliftment difficult. To ensure the usage of these public services, creating awareness and making the services accessible by law are the first two steps that must be worked upon simultaneously. In India, a considerable amount of shift has been seen with regards to this aspect.

To urge social inclusion of PwDs, today, almost all MRTS have seats reserved for the PwDs in comparison to the earlier few systems adopting it.

Existing Infrastructure of Metro Systems and BRTS in India The metro system is one of the latest and fastest emerging transportation systems in many cities of India and is instrumental in pushing easy accessibility due to its design.

Metro stations in India are designed on broadly three levels i.e entry/exit as the first level on the ground, ticket booth at the middle level and metro platform at the third level. In the case of the underground metro, the platform becomes the lowest level and vice versa in the case of an overhead metro. Owing to the requirement of building new infrastructure, all metro stations now have facilities as per the national standards meant for PwDs including facilities like lifts and escalators for accessing the metro train.

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Further on, all metro stations now have tactile flooring with effective signboards laid throughout the station for all functions and services. Apart from this, effective infrastructure for audio announcements is also present. The other important and much-required change which is making moving a wheelchair in and out of the metro car easier is the new design where the level of the metro car and the platform is the same, featuring a lesser gap between them. After getting in, reaching the reserved seats is easier as the seats are sensitively reserved near the entry and exit points of the transport cars. In cities like Mumbai, where the population using these systems is huge, assistants to aid passengers like PwDs are present.

(Disability rights activists conducting accessibility compliance audit at Wimco Nagar Depot Metro Station on March 22, 2022 | Photo Credit: K. Pichumani)

The other MRTS which is being widely used in India is the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS). Similar to the metro rail cars, the BRTS also has reserved seats near the entry/ exit point. In contrast to the heavy infrastructure required at every metro station/stop, bus stops and bus depots require minimal infrastructure and are comparatively easier to build, manage and operate. They play an important role in transporting passengers on the routes where the rail system cannot. With time, owing to the infrastructure upgrade, bus frequency has also improved. This also includes the provision of digital infrastructure to know bus timings and track them in real-time. Since bus stops are designed to be located on the footpath, few cities like Pune have provided tactile flooring throughout the footpath stretch in certain parts of the city to make bus stops accessible.

MRTS Components requiring Inclusivity Though the infrastructure of metro and bus systems have improved considerably, more components require upgradation to make these systems safe and inclusive holistically because providing accessibility with safety not only increases the availability and usability of services but also increases their functionality.

In metro systems, accessibility still remains a challenge for many PwDs. The entry point of the metro stations

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consisting of the lifts, escalators and staircases are located on the footpath. Often, the footpath area around them is undulated and lacks tactile flooring hindering accessibility.

Along with this, since in many cities, lifts and escalators at the entry point need to be protected against flooding, they are raised on a plinth at a higher level from the footpath.

This rise must be supported by ramps, but in some cases, it is raised with stairs instead of ramps to climb up, making accessibility difficult. In these cases, it is important that guidelines for universal accessibility are mandatorily followed and the building infrastructure created is executed skill fully and with precision.

Furthermore, all metro and monorail stations have well connected tactile flooring across all stations, but peak hours are bound to make navigation of these flooring strenuous.

In the case of overhead metro systems, it is noticed that the lifts are present on the entry and ticketing centres only and do not extend up to the platforms making it difficult for the PwDs to reach the transportation cars, especially the ones requiring the wheelchair. Hence, to assist the PwDs in navigating their way during peak hours and for boarding the train, trained personnel should be made available and infrastructure upgradation should be done wherever possible.

With regards to BRTS, many cities and state transport bus systems in India are still dependent on its old buses that continue to ply beyond their life shell of 12 years. Many older designed buses do not have ramps at the door, wider doors, lower floorboards, security belts and straps, and spaces to accommodate wheelchairs. The problem lies with the older design of the buses that are not compatible with the needs of PwDS and hence, replacement of bus fleets with new ones is bound to solve many problems related to accessibility. Since replacement of old buses at once with new fleets can put a strain on budget and fundings, it is recommended to undertake replacement partially where the oldest ones can be removed from the system while other buses simultaneously undergo servicing and maintenance. With proper planning, this would avoid a strain on budget while ensuring that buses are plying that allow accessibility in boarding.

Seats for PwDs are reserved near the door with a single handle to support themselves. Despite having a handle, sitting in front remains a risky business due to the jerks experienced while the driver pulls the brakes, takes a turn or changes the bus speed. For this, safety belts can be provided on the seats to minimize the effect of such actions.

Furthermore, as bus stops are located on the footpaths that are raised from the road level, it becomes difficult for PwDs to climb up and reach the bus stop. For this, to smoothen the rise, footpath ends must be sloped below towards the road with tactile flooring provided to navigate the footpath

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and the bus stop throughout its length. This would ensure the passenger to safely stand on the bus stop rather than the road and avoid any dangerous situations. The other problem related to boarding the bus is the gap existing between the bus and the bus stop level which is higher in the old buses. For this, the bus stop can be designed in a way that either has the same level as that of the bus, or there is a provision of ramps.

Information about buses, stops, depo and routes must be digitised. This would ensure access to information for everyone and would also allow one to track buses in realtime as their frequency gets affected due to the traffic jams, especially during peak times. Along with these solutions, it is important to have trained personnel to aid PwDs, both temporary and permanent, to gain access to BRTS, particularly in the case of older buses.

The Banner of Change Raising awareness about accessibility is an incremental process and requires both physical infrastructural and behavioural changes. India has envisaged and executed numerous policies and acts for the welfare of PwDs which has played an important role in convincing the masses to use the provided infrastructures like special schools, pension schemes, the inclusion of toilets for disability, etc.

Being a country that has remained biased towards PwDs due to superstitious beliefs, the policies have laid the foundation for the current efforts being made for inclusivity, a proof of relative behavioural change towards them.

The document ‘Harmonised Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier Free Built Environment for Persons with Disability and Elderly Persons’ has many infrastructural provisions and services mentioned in detail for easing accessibility and making spaces usable by PwDs. Often it is noticed that these standards are not followed onsite which hinders universal accessibility, hence, it is important to ensure that built environments are inclusive of these standards. The scenario is expected to improve more with the RPwD Act under the Constitution of India, SDG Goals and 'Accessible India Campaign' i.e. 'Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan' as it aims to enhance the accessibility of the built environment, transport system and information and communication ecosystem. *** (Monica Thakur is an architect who loves to explore aspects that shape built environments, the people who occupy them. She has worked in the sectors of water, heritage conservation and urban planning. She expresses her findings of design, architecture and urban planning in the form of writing.)

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Strategy for Technology Acquisition for Make in Indiafor Rail & Metro Projects and High Speed Trains 36

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he current criteria for considering two million population cities qualifies 19 cities for Metro projects. In addition DPRs for several cities with less than 2 million population are also being considered in the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA). While the requirement of funds projected in the 12th plan itself is nearly USD 22 billion, the actual investments envisaged would be more than 30 billion USD. Further MoHUA is also contemplating a policy of declaring cities with Million Plus population as eligible for Metro. Thus Metro Rails represent a multibillion dollar investment potential in India.

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FEATURED ARTICLE

Need for a Procurement Policy on Metro Projects

There is justification for formulating a long term strategy on procurement of Metro systems, given the huge market India’s metro projects offer. The strategy would need to leverage the market that numerous Metro projects offers and address long term sustainability of this relatively capital intensive public transport.

At present, Metros are being procured through individual contracts. Thus leveraging of the investment size is not taking place. Unless a supplier of Rolling Stock sees a likely market for bulk supply of train-sets/ signaling systems, bidding for Metro contracts, bidding will not be aggressively competitive.

Each Metro authority calling for Rolling Stock and Signaling results in creation of a heterogeneous rolling stock fleet, with serious consequences for sustainability. Maintenance servicing and Spares for Rolling Stock and Signalling Equipment are a major component in Operation and Maintenance costs which will require a detailed consideration for future. As is the practice, the services and spare parts will become more and more expensive, once the suppliers’ original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in Europe, Japan, Korea etc. migrate to new product versions and put the previous generation equipment in “service mode”.

Availability of spare parts and maintenance services will thus become more costly and even difficult.

Development of an India based OEM industry is therefore critical for sustainability when more than 19 Metros are being planned in the country.

on a single technology platform. The need for a policy framework is also recognized by Ministry of Urban Development.

“Presently individual metros are procuring rolling stock in small quantities with different specifications and clause to manufacture 60 to 70% cars indigenously. This does not promote indigenisation of propulsion equipment which is mostly imported. As in case of car body manufacture, indigenous manufacture of complete propulsion equipment in the phased manner also needs to be mandated in the rolling stock tenders,” said the Ministry.

Urban Transportation however is a State List subject. A national level policy would be required to direct States pursuing Metro projects to procure standard specification rolling stock and signal systems.

Transfer of Technology for “Make in India” driven manufacturing hub Rail Based Metro Transport Systems need to be viewed not merely as a transport solution but from a manufacturing perspective. Rail based transport systems require dedicated rolling stock and signalling systems for ensuring safe movement of steel wheel on steel rail. Rolling Stock and Signal systems constitute nearly 25-30% of project costs and recurring expenditure on spares is high. Thus localization of these systems can become a key driver for manufacturing in India.

Present Scenario not in sync with Make in India Unlike fixed infrastructure, in the area of rolling stock and signalling, it is seen that there is considerable heterogeneity in metro technology platforms. Even when manufacturing units have been set up in India, high value items that comprise the propulsion system are mostly imported from original equipment manufacturers (OEMS) in other countries like China, Korea and EU countries, where the technology resides.

Local Manufacturing provisions bring low tech assembly jobs in the country like making car bodies and bogie manufacture. As a result, limited value addition and jobs creation in high end manufacturing and technology take place within the country, despite several thousand crores being spent on metro projects from public exchequer.

Need for Standardization of Specifications Standardization of specifications for rolling stock, signalling and development of a vendor base of OEMs in the country will facilitate larger scale procurement

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Under “Make in India” mission, transfer of technology will help upgrade skill sets and technology base of the country to facilitate transformation from low-end technology product manufacturing to high -tech / high-end manufacturing. The transfer of technology would entail communicating not only the designs and drawings but also the system integration and maintenance knowhow, which will eventually lead to standardisation of specifications for Metros in India. Presently the turnover of indigenous rail equipment and component manufacturing industry covering the existing rail technology products is around Rs 35,000 Crores. The new technology

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transfers if used effectively, can raise the newer products like Metro Rail, High Speed Rail and Heavy Haul Freight Rail Rolling Stock, signals, Trains Control and Electrical Systems and the Rail Sector manufacturing business can expand beyond Rs 100,000 Crore.

Approach to Transfer of Technology-case study Standardization of specifications for rolling stock, signalling and development of a vendor base of OEMs in the country will require a prior measure – Acquisition of Technology. It has to be a sustained effort, anchored in a manufacturing facility with requisite skills and knowledge and practicing engineers to absorb the Designs, Drawings and Manufacturing processes, metallurgy etc., for high cost components, with training and hand holding all the way till vendor base of OEMs is developed in the country. An example of successful ToT in the Railways has been the procurement of 6000 HP electric locomotives from ABB with full transfer of technology. Technology for production of transformers, Traction Motors, Traction Converters, Auxiliary Converter, Vehicle Electronics, Application Software (Source Code & Tools), Car Body, Bogie etc with full purchase specification for non ABB items. The results were a stunning more than 50% drop in cost of production over the price of the imported locomotives- all through localization. This spun off a large domestic vendor base of Indian OEMs. Intercity High Speed Rail

As in the case of Metros, the High Speed Rail offers an opportunity to plan right from the beginning, in the correct direction, of imbibing advance rail technology and creating jobs in India. High Speed Rail train-sets work on distributed propulsion systems. Technology residency in Rolling stock for rail based suburban mass transit systems is available in India. Electric Multiple Unit (EMUs) and Multiple Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) coaches running in Indian Railways’ suburban rail services work on distributed propulsion technology. Even at present, technical clearance of all Metro projects is with Railways.

However, there is need to upgrade this technology base. The transfer of technology negotiations for Metro rolling stock will further strengthen India’s capacity to step up speed of EMUs / MEMUs in India from existing levels up to 200 km/hr and facilitate introduction of faster intercity passenger services on upgraded existing tracks. Tech knowhow for Metro coaches could be developed further by Indian Railways in house R&D, in association with academia, IITs, IISCs etc. to indigenously develop high speed trainsets. Prototypes could be tested on the proposed test track.

Japanese ToT could commence with helping India set up a test track for High Speed and heavy haul rail operations. About 50 kms of different types of track for testing rolling stock prototypes developed for HSR would not cost more than 4000 cr. With this, transfer of technology, absorption of advanced rail technology involved in HSR would also be facilitated.

Testing facilities and laboratories for development of prototypes could be explored. The case for Japanese Technology lies in the superior safety record and near zero mortality record, even during severe earthquake induced Rail mishaps involving high speed trains on elevated tracks.

Strategy on Transfer of Technology and Localization of Manufacturing of Rolling Stock/ Signalling systems for Rail Metro and High speed rail JICA loans are loffered for Metros as STEP loans with provision for procurement of goods and services from Japan to the extent of 30%. With atleast 15 metro projects likely to be posed for funding, Japanese consortia are presented an opportunity of supplying nearly 9-10 billion USD worth rolling stock/ signalling systems on Japanese technology platform and a long term engagement of its technical consultants for life cycle maintenance.

India may seek as its own condition - complete transfer of technology for rolling stock, signalling and train control systems for metro projects under India’s “Make in India” policy, translated as high value addition in India and making a transition from lowend manufacturing towards high end manufacturing in India- more sophisticated advanced technology-intensive goods.

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Negotiations on Transfer of Technology under STEP loan, for both Metro rolling stock and High Speed train-sets, should be conducted by a multi-disciplinary team on the Make in India policy plank. Such negotiations need to be taken beyond financial closure, to ensure India’s interests are well protected. These negotiations need to be backed by a conscious national policy- creating more jobs in the country, upgrading the level of technology and manufacturing base for high end technology products, nurturing India’s GDP and providing a base for R&D in advanced rail technology products.

The negotiation team must include experts who have knowledge of critical components of the Transfer of Technology package and a dedicated team to see through the complete process of transfer of technology.

The domain knowledge of experts on technology transfer and localisation, must be deployed to convince their Japanese Counterparts about the mutual benefits of collaboration in rolling stock manufacture. Japan has several companies like Kawasaki, Mitsubishi, Hitachi, Nippon Sharyo, Kinki Sharyo, Toshiba and JTREC with expertise in Rolling Stock design and manufacture, who stand to benefit from the investment opportunity. They can form more than one consortium to satisfy the norm for inviting competitive bidding within Japan.

technology be accompanied by design analysis training and hand holding in the entire production process and in understanding the vehicle guidance system and signalling system and train control systems so as to develop an understanding on how each component of the metro system integrates with the other for smooth and safe operation. Thus Transfer of Technology (ToT) Package could then also include hand holding for development of original equipment manufacturers for auxiliary convertor, traction convertor, transformer and other major high value items in the propulsion chain within India.

Japan has Heavy Haul Freight Rolling stock technology and India has interest in collaboration with Japanese Manufacturers of 12,000 HP and 9000 HP Locomotives to be used for freight operations including in Dedicated Freight Corridors. Loans for DFC must take advantage of simultaneous transfer of technology and manufacture in India with emphasis on vendor development as Original Equipment Manufacturers and Original Design Manufacturers (OEMs / ODMs) in India. Such localization should reach at least 70% of the value of rolling stock, as suggested by DIPP, within 3-4 years of ToT. Even in heavy haul wagon design we may explore Japanese technical assistance.

Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor offers a unique opportunity for setting up Green Field Projects- International Class Planning and Logistics are some of the features which will attract green field OEMs manufacturers in this region. India stands to gain through such a package as on the one hand we get a cheap loan and on the other hand the transfer technology package will ensure imbibing high end technology for further mass production and supply of spares to feed the growing demand for metro rolling stock and signalling in the country.

Thus jobs will be created in India instead of Indian money (through loan/public exchequer accounts) being spent on imports from Korea and China etc.

Issues to be resolved

India may need to identify a dedicated organization with practicing engineers, capable to absorb and develop the necessary technical skills and technology from Japanese majors. In this regard, PSUs like BEML, BHEL and IR Production Units like ICF Chennai, RCF Kapurthala, Rae Bareily etc could be useful candidates. Transfer of Technology to PSUs/ Govt bodies would give the Japanese firms an assurance that no IPR violation issues would arise.

OEMs vendor base would be developed on strict nondisclosure agreements and also for domestic usage only, so that they do not compete with Japanese Companies abroad.

The strategy would be to insist that the transfer of

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Having established the case for technology residency in India for Metro and HSR rolling stock, signalling systems with system integration knowhow, the following issues also would need to be addressed.

Globally advanced rail technology products are monopolised by a few nations. These nations jealously hoard commercial innovation products. This invariably creates stubborn cartels, even in competitive bidding. Ordinarily, ODAs, ECBs or multilateral funding agencies loans will finance only procurement of Rolling Stock/ Signalling equipment etc. but not transfer of technology. Advanced technology holding Donor nations will not part with such technologies, unless they sight gigantic infrastructure investments opportunities backed by markets. Thus a conscious policy decision has to be taken at the national level on procuring, through international bidding route, on loan funds- Metro and HSR rolling stock, signalling systems etc.

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Ordinarily a STEP Loan too will not accommodate an advanced technology transfer, unless both the donor and recipient nations perceive such advanced technology transfer as a strategic necessity. JICA loans are being offered for Metros as STEP loans with provision for procurement of goods and services from Japan to the extent of 30%.

Competitive bidding benefits will have to be matched with the benefits accruing to the nation from STEP loan over the life cycle of the loan. While a multilateral Agency loan will permit price discovery benefits to accrue, the all in cost of loan debt servicing of a multilateral agency lending could be higher than a STEP loan, when compared on the scale of benefit of lower interest rates and transfer of technology package.

With atleast 8-9 metro projects likely to be posed for funding, Japanese consortia are presented an opportunity of supplying more than 2.5 billion USD worth rolling stock/ signalling systems alone, on Japanese technology platform and a long term engagement of its technical consultants for life cycle maintenance. Through subtle negotiations, India may seek as its own condition- complete transfer of technology for rolling stock, signalling and train control systems for metro projects under India’s “Make in India” policy, translated as high value addition in India and making a transition from low-end manufacturing towards high end manufacturing in India- more sophisticated advanced technologyintensive goods. This is an imperative from the point of view of affordable sustainability of this public transport. Similar would be the case for high speed trains.

A word on Foreign Direct Investment in Metros and High Speed Rail. FDI- does not automatically bring in technology transfer of high value, high end technology products, unless there is a national policy on compulsory substantial localization. Sustainability issues in high speed trains and Metros will require local indigenous production and development of Indian OEMs. Thus a government negotiated transfer of technology package may be necessary for metros and HSR. ***

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Dr. Amudhan Valavan Independent Director MTC Chennai

A New Outlook on Road Safety through Technology IoT and Process Automation

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n 2021, the accidents were considerably reduced because of the pandemic period. Globally, road traffic crashes cause nearly 1.3 million preventable deaths and an estimated 50 million injuries each year – making it the leading killer of children and young people worldwide. As things stand, they are set to cause a further estimated 13 million deaths and 500 million injuries during the next decade and hinder sustainable development, particularly in low and middleincome countries. These unacceptable numbers, both in absolute and relative terms, have remained largely unchanged for the past 20 years, despite the painstaking work of the United Nations and other road safety bodies.

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Tremendous opportunity for progress has been created by a powerful set of factors, including the announcement of a Second Decade of Action for Road Safety by the Global & National Government Institution’s; and renewed political commitment of road safety in UNITED NATIO NS SUSTAINABLE DEVELO PMENT GO ALS TARGETS 3.6 and 11.2 , INDICATO RS 3.6.1. & 11.2.1 respectively as detailed below: GO AL 3 : GOO D HEALTH & WELL BEING (Ensure healthy lives and Promote wellbeing for all at ages) TARGETS: 3.6.

INDICATORS: 3.6.1.

By2020, Halve the number of Death rate due to road global deaths and Injuries from traffic injuries road traffic accidents GO AL NO .11: SUSTAINABLE CITIES & CO MMUNITIES (Make cities and Human S ettlements inclusive safe, resilient and Sustainable) TARGETS: 11.2.

Indicators: 11.2.1.

By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons

Proportion of population that has convenient access to public transport, by sex, age and persons with disabilities

Statistics of accidents India India accounts for about 10% of road accident fatalities, despite having only 1% of the world's vehicle population. No one, of course, can put a price tag on a human life but there is loss to the community every time a bread – winner or a WWW.URBANTRANSPORTNEWS.COM

OPINION

potential bread-winner is killed in a road accident. The statistics of road fatalities in India are chilling. At least 20 people die every hour in road accidents in the country.

During 2013, around 1.42 lakh people lost their lives in road mishaps. Every year there is an increase of 5 to 6% in fatalities. Annual social cost of road accidents is estimated at Rs75,000 crores, which is 3% of the GDP. The estimated cost includes compensation, asset loss, time and energy spent on police, hospital, court cases etc.

Being able to effectively manage road safety can significantly reduce the risk of any organisation, regardless of its size. It could also result in: • Fewer injuries to drivers; • Reduced risk of work-related ill health; • Reduced stress and improved morale; • Operational improvements; • Operational cost reductions With technological advances, safe driving has become more possible, and the number of traffic accidents is decreasing. Simultaneously, however, the driver population has increased and changed with becoming an inclusive society. Actually, 50% of countries recorded a rise in the number of road deaths among elderly people, and in 30% of countries, the elderly have the highest mortality rate in traffic of all age groups. Elderly people have become more mobile and are more exposed to traffic risks. Therefore, it is of great importance to accurately evaluate the driving ability of these individuals.

S#

Ma i n Ca uses for Road Accidents

1 2

Street Racing Drunken Driving Tra ffi c Violation – Not following Traffic Signals, i mproper lane s election, not s topping before zebra cros s ing, not stopping stop line, not following Road Ma rki ngs etc.

Dri vi ng Violation (Dangerous / Ca reless Drivi ng /Overta king / Over-speeding / Overloading /wrong s i de/improper side, Failing to follow IPDE (Identification, Prediction, Decision, Execution) Pri nci ples/MSM (Mirror Signal Manevur) & PSL(Pos ition Speed Look) Routine etc.)

Vi olation by Vulnerable Road Users (Pedestrian/Cycl ist/ Two wheelers etc.)

Avoi di ng Safety Gears like Seatbelts/ Helmets etc.

Defi ciencies i n Road –Site Distances, Street l ighting /Roa d Li ghting. Junction Design , Horizontal & Verti cal alignment i n Highways, Pi ts, Pot Holes , i mproper surface, black tops, Project of man holes, Improper Speed Brakers, failure to i nstall road furni ture’s Di s comfort in Environmental - Construction Sites, Ga rbage heap, weather condition, Cl imate, Pollution, Sta tus of surrounding (Hoardings Display -Posters, Ba nners), Haphazard parking, Hawking mena ce(encroachments of s idewalks) animals on the roa d etc.

Defective Vehicles- Braking Efficiency, Condition of Tyre, Hea dlights, Other Li ghts a nd other minor Defects etc.

Drunken Driving Vi s ual Distraction ( Banners & Billboards, Texting, mobi le phone driving ) etc Ma nual/Physical Distraction –Operating Stereo/Radio/Video i n vehicle, drinking water, eating s na cks, adjusting mirror, combing hair, A/c Switch etc.)

Cogni tive/Mental Distraction.(While driving focus wi l l not there i .e. abscond mind) Phys i cal Fatigue /sleeplessness / Sickness of Dri vers /Self-medication etc.

2

3

4 5

6

7

Even though all accidents are unique, the following are the macro level causes for road accidents (4D’s):-

S. No 1D 2D 3D 4D

Causes Defi ciency i n road s ystem Defective vehicles Di s obedience of road users Di s comfort in the environment

Distribution 5% 5% 85% 5%

Decreasing Risk: Avoiding accidents through Defensive Driving Defensive driving is a set of driving skills & strategies which helps to recognize the unanticipated risk and take well-informed decisions. This safe driving enables the driver to manage & control the vehicle in an emergency & reduce the danger associated with it. This proactive driving methodology is designed to identify the high-risk behaviour of the commuter before the crash & facilitate changes.

Road safety charity, Brake, pinpoints poor vision, fatigue, ill health and stress as the significant factors in whether people have the ability to drive safely.

The Cause wise Analysis for Road Accidents are detailed below in the Table 1.Even though all accidents are unique, the following are the micro level causes for road accidents.

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8

9 10

11

12 13

Road safety is a multidisciplinary problem and it therefore requires a coherent and integrated approach, bringing together the efforts of all stake holders. A driver should learn the art of defensive and safe driving. Defensive driving means that driving in a manner that prevents accidents in spite of adverse driving conditions and situation created by others who may not follow rules. A defensive driver should think that the other driver is blind,

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OPINION

deaf and careless and has to save himself and other driver from his action.

Q ualities of a Good Driver Responsibility Confidence Vehicle Knowledge Consideration to others Patience

Concentration Anticipation

Adherence to Traffic laws Defensive driving

other factors such as cost or the desire for faster transport times.

• Implement Road Safety education in School curriculum at excellence level.

• Improving the quality and skills of driver through effective Driving licensing Proposal • Driving Schools are to be monitored through accreditation policy through proper National & State Statutory Bodies

Shared responsibility for road safety Consequences and Solutions to Consider

Though governmental agencies have the primary responsibility to design a safe road transport system and implement a road safety action plan, the role and influence of other actors are increasingly recognized as an important part of the Safe System. The private sector, civil society, academia, and other non-state actors can also contribute in important ways. The collective, global power of public and private organizations adopting road safety practices as part of their contributions to the SDGs, together with their endorsement, leadership and purchasing power, is substantial.

• Role of government • Role of academia, civil society and youth • Role of the private sector • Role of Funders / NGO’s / Trustee’s Building on the Safe System approach Every year road safety week is observed during the first week of January, which has become a ritual. No serious education and enforcement measures are followed. The Safe System approach – a core feature of the Decade of Action – recognizes that road transport is a complex system and places safety at its core. It also recognizes that humans, vehicles and the road infrastructure must interact in a way that ensures a high level of safety.

1.Road Safety Education in School Curriculum: It is very much essential in today’s world as road traffic is becoming increasingly busy. Years ago, it was safe for your child to travel on the road without a care, but things have changed since then. Now there are more cars, scooters, motorbikes, and buses etc. on the road. Most of the educational institutions now organize road safety education for improving student road safety. This will contain educational activities that help you to gain more knowledge about road safety.

Road safety education would help students understand the importance of safety on the road when walking as a pedestrian or as one driving a vehicle. It’s also important to take immediate action such as calling the authorities for medical or transport aid or both. Road accidents are the leading cause of death and hospitalisation in today’s world.

It’s not unusual that your children become the victim of road related injuries. You will be able to solve this issue by providing proper road safety education to your children.

Also, you should learn to use road responsibly and make your children be aware of the road system from an early age. Road safety education plays a vital role in shaping the attitude and behaviour of children as well as young people, thereby ensuring that they become a responsible driver, passenger, pedestrian, and cyclist.

A Safe System therefore for mitigation of accidents: • Anticipates and accommodates human errors; • Incorporates road and vehicle designs that limit crash forces to levels that are within human tolerance to prevent death or serious injury; • Motivates those who design and maintain the roads, manufacture vehicles, and administer safety programmes to share responsibility for safety with road users, so that when a crash occurs, remedies are sought throughout the system, rather than solely blaming the driver or other road users; • Pursues a commitment to proactive and continuous improvement of roads and vehicles so that the entire system is made safe rather than just locations or situations where crashes last occurred; • Adheres to the underlying premise that the transport system should produce zero deaths or serious injuries and that safety should not be compromised for the sake of

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2.National Accreditation Board for Driver Training Schools: There are so many accreditation boards for education, laboratories, and Bus body building companies etc. to monitor the function and improve the quality in the respective fields. The large number of road accidents stresses its importance on better skills of the drivers so that the safety of both man and machine is preserved on the roads. Only good driver training institutes can make sure that the people get required skills. The process of issuance of driving license is to be more stringent. All Regional Transport Offices in India issue over 1.5 crore fresh or renew driving licences every year, which works out to an average 42000 licences per day. The issue of licenses should be made more stringent and drivers trained in institute only should be issued license. The driving schools in our country are to be established as per rule 24 of the CMV rules 1989 with necessary infrastructure and qualified instructors, whereas the functioning of the driving

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schools are not maintained properly.

Practically, licensing authorities may not be able to assess the driving skills as mentioned in the Motor vehicle act.

Instead test tracks with necessary infrastructures like lanes, light signals, S- bend, Ghat section culverts, CCTV cameras, Sensors (Called IoT enabled Tracks) etc. should be developed in all Taluk Headquarters. The applicants should undergo test in these tracks. On monitoring the tests through the “IoT Technology Systems” enabled tracks, license is to be issued only after considering the marks obtained. Though training schools have mushroomed all over the country, they fail to impart driver training scientifically. Theory classes in driving and traffic education as well as sufficient practice in driving should be imparted.

DTS (Driving Training School) shall be categories based on driver training activities undertaken by them as indicated: A-All classification of vehicles B-Heavy transport vehicles C- Heavy transport vehicles & light motor vehicles (Transport and non-transport) D- Light motor vehicles (Transport and non-transport) ETwo wheelers

Accreditation bodies shall conduct surveillance assessment once in a year and reassessment of DTS before the expiry of accreditation certificate. The surveillance aims at examining whether the accredited DTS is maintaining all the requirements prescribed in the rules. On grant of accreditation the DTS by National Accreditation Board (NAB), The respective Driving Training School shall use NAB logo as its business promotion. DTS accreditation certificate shall be valid for a period of only two years and should be renewable. The new proposal for National accreditation for Driver Training Schools is detailed below in the Picture 1: 3. Proposal of Driver License Procedure for Accident Reduction

In respect to the Driving license Procedure, the National and Central government should develop advance technologies for the Driving license process. There should be two type of evaluation. They should be for testing driving skills: off-road and on-road tests. Off-road tests assess driving skills related to cognitive ability by paperbased or computer-based testing. It should comprise of rules and scenario-based questioning.

It is important to evaluate vulnerable adults’ driving ability

NEW PRO PO SAL FO R NATIO NAL ACCREDITATIO N FO R DRIVING TRAINING SCHO O L

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OPINION

using multiple perspectives (on-road and off-road). Several off-road tests have demonstrated one’s reliability and validity, and it is useful for predicting ones driving ability by systematic review and meta - analysis. But On - road test proves more practical when it comes to accessing one’s driving ability. The proposed new system suggests step by step procedure automation and approval by verifying eligible candidates only to go for LLR application. Once this step is over, they can approach an NAB approved DTS online or offline and register with them for driving lessons and traffic rules and hazards theory class. Once they complete the training, they should clear an online or on paper test first. Once this is done, they should Pass both Practical Test in a simulated environment as well and another on seat practical test in a IoT enabled performance monitoring road environment. The technology should score the individuals driving skill automatically without any human intervention. This new proposal system will set a standard in the future of driving as detailed in the figure: 2, thus enabling a safer public road system to the people and animals too.

Road Safety Education in Schools: I propose to teach road safety rules and regulation as a part of schooling curriculum. Because as of now, only those who apply for Driver’s license go through the needed education on road safety and even among those people, very few remember it.

But if the same is imparted even as a child grows, traffic accidents can be drastically reduced soon. It is high time that government takes measures in adding such snippets into one’s education requirements.

Key Takeaways

instructors, whereas currently the functioning of the driving schools is not maintained properly. The functioning of all the (DTS)Driver Training Schools in India should be monitored. For monitoring the functions, an accreditation board is to be constituted as said above.

Suitable law to be enacted and necessary amendment to be issued in the MV act on the following three area:

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Revision of Licensing Procedure: And the Licensing Procedure should be changed. This will result in reduction in the number of accidents and leads to creating good quality drivers in the society. If speedy action is taken in implementing the road safety education in schools and if the driving licence procedure are changed as explained above, we can see quick results in for of reduced number of road accidents.

Accreditation of Driving Schools: The driving schools in our country are to be established as per rule 24 of the CMV rules 1989 with necessary infrastructure and qualified

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Media Support:

INTERVIEW

In conversation with Rohit Saboo President & CEO National Engineering Industries Limited

“

We remain committed to being carbon neutral by 2039.

We have also been awarded the Green Factory Platinum Certification for our 75year-old manufacturing plant in Jaipur. IGBC gave our plant the highest level of rating for the best-in-class sustainability practices.

Rohit Saboo has began his journey as Executive Assistant to the Chairman of CK Birla Group.

He has worked in manufacturing, R&D and is now President and CEO of National Engineering Industries (NEI). A business development professional, with expertise in strategy, business planning, operations management and operational excellence, at NEI, his purpose is to maintain the company's legacy and fast-track its growth with increased sales, fostering a strong global presence.

In a recent interaction with Urban Transport News, he frankly talked about the vision & mission of National Engineering Industries (NEI) and his thoughts on Govt. of India’s policies towards nation building.

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First, kindly accept our heartiest congratulations on completing 75 years of service to the industry by NEI Ltd. Tell us about the journey of NEI Ltd in India?

Thank you. It is indeed a proud moment and we have been celebrating this milestone with all our stakeholders.

Founded in 1946, National Engineering Industries Ltd (NEI), a part of the US$ 2.4bn CK Birla group is India’s leading bearings manufacturer and exporter, recognized for excellence in quality and delivery. It manufactures under the brand name NBC Bearings.

Since its inception, NBC Bearings has made constant strides, starting from being the first company manufacturing bearings in India to being India’s leading manufacturer of bearings, maintaining the legacy of the brand. Enabling sustainability by making movement more efficient, NEI is India's largest manufacturer of bearings with the production of over 200 Mn bearings annually in 2300+ sizes for application across automotive, railways, aerospace, and industrial segments to WWW.URBANTRANSPORTNEWS.COM

serve customers in more than 30 other countries. It also serves the Indian aftermarket through a countrywide network of 550 authorized stockists and thousands of retailers.

In 2020, NEI also acquired Kinex Bearings in Europe to enhance and diversify in order to provide best-in-class products to our existing and potential customers and to be close to the international customers.

The company has aligned the objectives with the philosophy of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ to showcase our commitment to the nation. NEI is the only bearing manufacturer in the world to receive Deming Grand Prize for its quality.

Our product range includes ball bearings, taper roller bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, spherical roller bearings, needle bearings and axle boxes. Apart from this, we are also making bearings for EVs and stepping our foot into aerospace and defense segments.

How is NEI contributing to India's Rail and Metro sector?

NBC Bearings has been collaborating with Indian railways since 1952 to develop and supply bearings to them. As mentioned earlier, the company has also partnered with other reputed international brands like Brenco Inc. (US) to develop a product portfolio for Railways. To provide bestin-class products to our existing and potential customers, NEI also acquired Kinex bearings in Europe last year, which is a supplier to European Railways.

For Railways, our range of bearings includes cartridge taper roller bearings and cylindrical roller bearings for railway wagons, axle boxes for locomotives, traction motor bearings, including insulated bearings, and so on. We have partnered with railways around the globe with bearings for locomotives, wagons, and coaches.

Recently, we have also collaborated with Amsted Seals to start a greenfield project under the brand name NBCBrenco in Jaipur to manufacture railway bearing seals in India. This is aimed at ensuring to host best-in-class manufacturing techniques and equipment. NBC-Brenco also intends to add automotive seals and products with metal fabrication in the future.

How India’s PLI scheme will help make the country a key manufacturing hub?

According to CAGR report, the Indian auto-components industry grew at a 6% over the five years (FY2016 to FY2020). With a 2.3% share in India’s GDP, the automotive industry is projected to stand 3rd most prominent in the world by 2025. Globally, India enjoys the

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position of being the largest producer of two-wheelers, three-wheelers and tractors. It is also the fifth largest manufacturer of passenger and commercial vehicles.

Over the years, the automotive sector in India has emerged as a sunrise sector with companies hugely investing in it to offer services to the domestic and export markets. The Indian government has given a thumbs up for 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) under the automatic route for foreign investment in the automobile sector.

With the government approving Rs25,938 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, the sectoral growth is likely to speed up to promote the transition to advanced technologies. This will highlight India on the global map in terms of the localization of the auto components industry and provide a larger share for India.

How technology providers and manufacturers can partner to drive sustainability success across the country?

Manufacturers are leveraging sustainable practices to do more with less, reduce costs and waste, improve operational efficiency, gain competitive advantage, and enhance regulatory compliance. In fact, as India pledged to become a net-zero carbon emitter by 2070 at the Glasgow COP 26, businesses need to implement sustainable measures urgently.

In the case of NBC Bearings, keeping to the spirit of our company’s purpose of ‘Enabling sustainability by making movement more efficient, NBC Bearings has implemented sustainability measures to reduce carbon footprint. This includes using less resources and also producing our products by following efficient processes, creating products that ultimately helps our end-customers to be more efficient.

We remain committed to being carbon neutral by 2039.

We have also been awarded the Green Factory Platinum Certification for our 75-year-old manufacturing plant in Jaipur. IGBC gave our plant the highest level of rating for the best-in-class sustainability practices. Our other plant near Vadodara is also IGBC Platinum certified.

What are your takes on Govt's 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' and 'Make in India' initiatives? What is the role of NEI in achieving the goals of these initiatives?

Being the first company in India to manufacture bearings, we have always strived to provide domestically developed bearings for local industries and Railways. We are committed to 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' and aim to leverage local technologies and manufacturing to achieve selfreliance.

We already have five manufacturing facilities in India that

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INTERVIEW

supply to customers not only in India but across 30+ countries including Germany, Japan, and China. Our focus has always been to provide domestically developed bearings to local industries by understanding their challenges. In line to attaining self-reliance, we plan to leverage the technology through local manufacturers. With the acquisition of Kinex, our European subsidiary, we are planning to grow in international markets equally. Our JV with Amsted Seals for manufacturing railway seals is already operational which will not only cater to domestic requirement but also to our international customers.

Given the current focus is on “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, we are also considering widening our existing portfolio by getting into the other critical sectors like, aerospace and defence industries. We are in discussion with several aerospace businesses and have realised that we can explore these sectors and help in lowering import dependency.

pandemic. So, achieving the $5 trillion economy goal has been interrupted by unprecedented challenges related to COVID-19. Additionally, there are global challenges that has impacted the early economic signals. The government’s initiatives such as the GatiShakti Master Plan, the National Highway Network to develop 25,000 km of new highways network and productivity linked incentive (PLI) schemes to be extended to 14 sectors for achieving the mission of AtmaNirbhar Bharat are expected to push India toward its goal. Being a global player, the external factors affecting other economies affect India equally. With the scenario being very dynamic, we have to revisit our strategies and adapt as per changing needs.

What is your feedback on the content we serve th e industry through our digital and print publications?

Do you think there are some gray areas that n eed to be addressed to achieve the 5 trillion economy goals?

I see a good mix of in-depth and news-based content on Urban Transport, which updates the readers on the latest in the mobility sector. I congratulate your team on their continued effort.

We have to acknowledge that this goal was set before the

***

A greener future: Thoughts on India’s proposed battery swapping policy

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ounting concerns over transport emissions contributing to climate change, coupled with the insatiable demand for expensive petroleum from Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles, have compelled countries around the world to embrace electric vehicles (EVs). Home to the world’s largest two- and three-wheeler markets, and the fifth-largest passenger car market, India considers emobility and clean energy generation mission critical for its 2070 Net Zero target.

The Government of India (GoI) is matching ambition with resources and favorable policies to drive EV adoption.

Nevertheless, the high upfront EV costs impose major barriers in price-sensitive India, with batteries making up around 50 percent of the price tag.

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Battery swapping is emerging as a cost, time, and space efficient solution for two and three wheelers. Users can buy vehicles without batteries, subscribe to batteries-as-aservice, and swap discharged batteries for charged ones at kiosks. Time wise, swapping resembles refueling. It takes minutes versus at least an hour for charging. This drastic reduction in vehicle downtime will increase the productivity of commercial fleets, and could nudge fleet users to switch to EVs. Swappable batteries can also be charged in stacks, requiring less space per EV compared to fixed battery charging, and allow better quality control of charging conditions.

So far though, swapping hasn’t taken off in India. Majority of battery swaps happen within closed circles that exclude the public. The GoI is making a bold attempt to democratize swapping in the country to unlock this solution at scale. The sale of EVs without batteries has already been legalized. On the heels of a 2022-23 Budget announcement, India’s policy think-tank NITI Aayog released a draft Battery Swapping Policy for consultation.

Such a policy is unprecedented globally. Even in countries where swapping is more prevalent like China and Taiwan, policy intervention has been relatively light. Considering the nascence of battery swapping, and EVs more generally, in India, a clear policy and accompanying incentives could prove decisive.

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OPINION

The draft Policy scores high on five key fronts: interoperability, safety, transparency, customer-centricity, and sustainability.

1. The draft Policy takes a nuanced approach to fostering interoperability. Battery swapping is premised on aligning different parts of the ecosystem – vehicles, batteries, and charging stations. Instead of prescribing single technical standards which could restrict innovation, the Policy gives room for the market to develop multiple internally consistent ecosystem solutions, open for other players to plug in to. Such a permissive approach can foster innovation for this nascent technology.

2. At the same time, the Policy doesn’t leave safety to chance. Ecosystems will have to meet safety and performance requirements for certification, particularly relevant given the recent spate of EV-related safety incidents in India. Such an emphasis on safety and performance resonates with standards elsewhere, like in China and Singapore.

3. An important step to enhance asset security and transparency in functioning is the Unique Identification Number-based tracking and monitoring system for ecosystem elements.

4. The Policy will also pave the way for a data sharing and communication protocol to allow users to make informed decisions.

5. Last, but not least, the Policy drives towards long-term environmental sustainability by outlining a system for battery re-use and recycling.

In addition to the recommendation of Goods and Services Tax normalization and land/electricity tariff concessions, the calibration of direct subsidies for swapping relative to fixed battery models would be critical to address industry feedback. Technical standards accompanying the Policy would also need to strike a fine balance between fostering interoperability and leaving room for innovation. Market views on this are mixed, with some quarters calling for standardization to some degree, and others advocating a laissez-faire approach.

Access to competitive financing remains a key piece of the puzzle. The Policy will go a long way in providing clarity on the regulatory environment, and in facilitating information flow which could bring down risk premia. NITI Aayog has also been working with the World Bank to develop programmatic solutions to unlock commercial financing for the EV transition. A Risk Sharing Program for two and three wheelers offering a first-loss partial credit guarantee to bring down financing costs could mobilize private capital and stretch the government’s dollar efficiently. Such facilities have proven useful for other nascent markets such as renewables, and should also be considered for swapping.

The ongoing consultation is a valuable opportunity to incorporate feedback from the EV ecosystem and put in place a landmark policy for India’s green transition. ***

This article is co-authored by: The devil is likely to be in the details. The Policy’s goal of creating a level playing field across fixed battery and swapping business models is an important one, to reduce entry barriers and increase user choice.

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• Gerald Ollivier, Lea d Transport Specialist, India • Shyam Srinivasan, Young Professional, HAWE2, World Bank • Shyamasis Das, Cons ultant, World Bank

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GSSE 2022: A 3-day Global Expo on Stainless Steel concluded in Mumbai, India

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irgo Communications and Exhibitions Pvt Ltd successfully hosted the first-ever GSSE 2022: Global Stainless Steel Expo powered by Jindal Stainless and supported by the Ministry of Steel, Government of India, Urban Transport News and Metro Rail Today from 12th to 14th April at Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai.

The 3-day conclave provided an exclusive platform for the stainless steel industry stakeholders which included manufacturers, buyers, influencers, regulators, industry associations and media, to converge under one roof. The exhibition spread across 5000 sq. mts. space offered 80+ producers an opportunity to network, showcase products, build presence, and engage with their target audience and explore business opportunities. The exhibition was well attended by about 8000 trade visitors which included industry captains from the country and beyond.

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URBAN TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE MAY 2022

GSSE presented a gateway to various end-user industries to familiarize themselves with cutting edge technology from across the world, deliberate on emerging business trends during knowledge-packed topical sessions, lay down a road map to accelerate industry’s growth and jointly devise ways to reclaim India’s position as second largest stainless steel producer. Incidentally, the cyclical and structural factors have been driving growth in the country’s stainless steel segment post the pandemic. The event indeed helped the industry to leverage and discuss issues pertinent to the growth of India’s stainless steel industry and solutions needed to raise the bar for the whole country in the stainless steel ecosystem comprising of suppliers, users, traders, associations and regulators.

The maiden B2B exhibition-cum-conference was inaugurated by Chief Guest, Smt. Rasika Chaube, Addl.

Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Govt. of In dia in presence of Mr. Abhyuday Jindal, MD, Jindal Stainless; Mr. Prakash Sanghvi, CMD, Ratnamani Metals & Tubes; Mr. K K Pahuja, President, Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA) and Mr. Sanjeev Taneja, ED (SSP), Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL).

A brief research report Stainless Vision 2047 prepared by CRISIL in close coordination with ISSDA was also released by Smt. Rasika Chaube, Addl. Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Govt. of India during the Inaugural. The findings of the report aligned with new aspirational India and overall vision of the Ministry of Steel. The report stated that domestic stainless steel demand is expected to reach 20 million tons (MT) by fiscal year 2047.

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EVENT REPORT

India is the second largest consumer of stainless steel and one of the fastest growing markets. The country’s per capita stainless steel consumption has more than doubled to 2.5 kg in 2022 fiscal from 1.2 kg in 2010. In 2021-22, the country’s demand for stainless steel was 3.7-3.9 MT and as of March 2022, India’s installed stainless steel capacity is at 6.6-6.8 MT. The capacity utilization is estimated to have improved from 50 per cent in 2021 fiscal year to 58-60 per cent in 2022.

The industry is further expected to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.6-7.5 per cent over fiscals 2022-2025 and reach 4.6-4.8 MT. Further, the consumption is expected to reach 12.5-12.7 MT and 19-20 MT by fiscal years 2040 and 2047 respectively.

Remarkably, sectors like Construction, Infrastructure and Manufacturing are expected to drive the industry’s growth and become key contributors to the country’s GDP.

A by-invitation CEO Roundtable chaired by Smt. Rasika Chaube in presence of Smt. Aruna Sharma, Former Secretary, Ministry of Steel as Special Invitee was also held to discuss and deliberate various issues having a bearing on the survival, growth, and sustainability of the stainless steel industry.

The exhibits at GSSE mainly included flat & long products, duplex, bars, rebars, ingots, pipes, tubes, sheets, coils, wires, finished goods and latest machinery & technology from India and overseas. The trade visitors represented sectors like Architecture, Building & Construction, Automotive, Railways, Transportation, Dairy, White Goods, Water & Waste management, Oil, Gas & Energy, Pharmaceutical/Medical Devices, Food Processing/Wine/Alcohol/Beverage, Hospitality/ Lifestyle, HVAC & Refrigeration, Defence, Cookware/Utensils, Laminate/Hardware, 3D Printing and others.

exhibition was supported by Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA) as Lead Association, Pegasus Consulting as Knowledge Partner, Stainless Bazaar as Digital Partner and other leading trade associations like Stainless Steel Pipe & Tube Manufacturer Association (SSPTMA), Metal and Stainless Steel Merchants Association (MASSMA), All India Stainless Steel Industries Association (AISSIA), Stainless Steel Merchants Association (SSMA), Process Plant & Machinery Association of India (PPMAI) and NonFerrous Metals Association-Karnataka (N’MAK).

Other key participants included Rimjhim Stainless, Jindal Saw, Aperam, Tubacex, Venus Pipes, Synergy Steel, Chandan Steel, Ambica Steels, Rajputana Stainless, Divine Tubes, Scoda Tubes, Welspun, Balaji Niryaat, Suncity, Shiv Ganga, Shree Ramdev, Alok Ingots, Vizinox, Avtar Steels, Phoenix Foils, Navbharat Tubes, Salem SS Suppliers, Steamline Industries, Krystal, Fronius, Hisar Metal Inds, ASB Tubes, S Plus Tube Tech, TBS Metal, Shree Tubes, Panchratan Steels, Quality Foils, Anil Metals, Ratnesh Metal Inds, Calico Metal Alloys, Laxmi Pipes, Mangalam Sarloha, Moonlight, Riddhi Siddhi Impex, Arnay Tubes, Shree Venktesh Wires & Steel, Kumar Steelways, Fortran Steel, Chaman International, SNB Enterprises, Grind Master, Rockford Abrasives, Dev Abrasives and many others.

The theme for the concurrent 3-day conference was Moving towards Building a Stainless Future which boasted of 12 power-packed sessions, 50+ Renowned Speakers and 1000+ Delegates from 500+ Organizations. The key topics discussed were Opportunities and the role of Stainless Steel in Nation Building; Accelerating Growth: How can India’s per capita consumption rise from 2.5 KG to world average of 6 KG?; Quality Enhancement and Role of BIS; Skill Development for Stainless Ecosystem; Boosting Applications in Architecture, Building and Construction; Building Sustainable Infrastructure; Analyzing the growth potential of long products market in India; Masterclass on Welding, Corrosion and Fabrication; Powering Railway and Surface Transportation in India; The Role of Digital in enabling Business Transformation for MSMEs; Fueling new Applications for end-user industries and Emerging markets–Hydrogen & Ethanol. ***

GSSE attracted major industry players like Outokumpu, Ratnamani, Laxcon Steel and Minox Metal as Gold Sponsors and Sunflag Steel as Entry Badge Sponsor. The

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INDUSTRY EVENT CALENDER 2022

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January 20

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Virtual

February 10

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London, UK

February 15-17

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Berlin, Germany

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March 17-19

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Jakarta, Indonesia

March 22-24

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Mumbai, India

March 23-25

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New Delhi, India

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September 20-23

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October 26

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November 4-6

Urban Mobility India Conference & Expo

Kochi, India

November 9-10

MOVE

London, UK

Nov 29 – Dec 1

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Malga, Spain

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