TRANSPORT SECTOR The transport sector is facing the following challenges The capacity needs are expected to double every decade in the medium term. It will consequently require large set up in investment for capacity creation. The congestion and shortage of capacity is exhibited in all transport sectors. The transport efficiency is low. The average speed of movement of all modes – rail, road, coastal ships- is lower than that in more efficient economies. There is an important distortion in the overall transport of goods. Despite the fact that large part of India’s freight traffic comprises bulk material and moves of long distances that can be served efficiently by rail and waterways, the share of shipping through waterways is nearly 6% as compared to 14% in US and 30% in China. This is imposing high cost of the economy by way of much higher dependence of fossil fuels and high level of greenhouse gas emissions. Hence, on environmental concerns, there is need to encourage rail and shipping. There is need to provide transport access to large underserved areas of country. A number of states in the North East have very little rail network. A number of air strips in the NE region are not in use. Intra- regional air connectivity in the region is low. Safety is another area of concern, especially in the road sector. There is near absence of integrated regulatory regime for overseeing tariff, cost of operations, anti-competitive practices and accountability to consumers. The major initiatives suggested to improve the transportation system in India are An integrated approach is required to be taken for transport as a whole. Transport should be guided by a modal mix that will lead to an efficient, sustainable, economical, safe, reliable, environmentally friendly and regionally balanced transport system. Two important initiatives that could be taken to achieve this are o Transportation by containerization would need rapid expansion. o Intermodal connectivity should be given thrust by developing India’s Inland Waterways which totals about 14500 km in length along with coastal shipping. The sector requires large increase in investments. Larger and focused investments will be able to address the two key issues of rapid increase in capacity and improvement in efficiency of infrastructure. Transport reforms are needed in pricing and fiscal areas. In several sectors the transport pricing policies are unsustainable. Transport safety has been a neglected area in past and credible institutional framework to address these issues at Center, States and city level is required. A National Transport Policy Development Committee (NTPDC) has recommended setting up institutes for road, railway, water and air safety to ensure professionals are abreast with of the international knowledge and findings as well as provisions for funding and establishment of multi-disciplinary safety research centers at academic institutions. Transport access is critical of inclusive growth, economic development, access to markets and participation in political process. Social inclusion requires that needs of the differently abled are kept in mind while developing the economy. Human resource development would be the key factor in achieving the objective of creating well developed and efficient transport system in the country. Connectivity in the North East, both within the region and with far eastern region, including Myanmar, Bangladesh and Thailand would be one of focus areas for economic development of the region and expanding economic activities including trade and commerce. MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT Multimodal Transport system is the chain that interconnects different modes of transport – air, sea and land, into one complete process that ensures an efficient and cost effective door- to- door movement of goods under the responsibility of one transport operator known as Multimodal Transport Operator (MTO), on one transport document. Multimodal transportation in India is governed by Multimodal Transportation of Goods Ac, 1993, which needs to be strengthened to address issues such as liability regime, setting of service standards and registration of service providers, to provide transparency in operations. INLAND WATERWAYS TRANSPORT (IWT) Inland Waterways Transport (IWT) mode is best suited for movement of bulk cargo, over- dimensional cargo and hazardous goods. IWT also offers an environment friendly economic mode of transport compared to road and rail. According to recent studies, the total external cost of inland navigation, after accounting for all externalities including accidents, congestion, noise pollution, air pollution and other environmental impacts, is seven times lower than road transport. There is transport subsidy for movement of raw materials and finished goods for the new industries of NER but it is applicable only for rail and road modes and not for IWT. Similarly, transport subsidy available to movement of fertilizers is also meant for rail and road transport. The service tax applicable to IWT is more than that applicable to rail and road transport. There is need for a level playing field and removal of distortions resulting from such policies.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 03:36:21 +0000
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