India 2018

506 India 2018
Road Safety
The Government has approved a National Road Safety Policy so as to minimise
road accidents. It outlines various measures such as promoting awareness,
establishing road safety information data base, identification and rectification
of road accident black spots , improving road accident data collection and data
base management, training of highway engineers and professionals in road
safety engineering, improving vehicular safety standards,encouraging safer road
infrastructure including application of intelligent transport, effective trauma
care, enforcement of safety laws etc. The important schemes on road safety
operated by the Ministry include publicity measures and awareness campaign
on road safety, Scheme for Setting up Institutes for Driving Training, Refresher
Training of Drivers in Unorganized Sector and Human Resource Development,
National Highways Accident Relief Service Scheme (NHARSS), setting up of
inspection and certification centres and road safety and pollution testing
equipment and programme implementation.
e-tolling
In order to remove traffic bottle neck at toll plazas and ensure seamless
movement of vehicles and hassle-free collection of toll, the Government has
implemented a nationwide Electronic Toll Collection based on passive Radio
Frequency Identification (RFID) conforming to EPC Gen-2, ISO 18000-6C
standards. It provides for electronic collection of toll through FASTags. The
project was first launched in 2015.
National Green Highways Project
The Policy aims to develop eco-friendly National Highways with the
participation of community, farmers, NGOs and private sector. The initial
plantation drive on 1,500 km of national highways at a cost of about ` 300 crore
was launched as part of the Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation,
Beautification and Maintenance) Policy 2016.
Shipping
The Ministry of Shipping was formed in 2009 by bifurcating the erstwhile
Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways into two independent
ministries. Maritime Transport is a critical infrastructure for the economic
development of a country. It influences the pace, structure and pattern of
development. The Ministry of Shipping encompasses within its fold shipping
and port sectors which also include shipbuilding and ship repair, major ports
and inland water transport. It is entrusted to formulate policies and programmes
on these sectors and their implementation.
Maritime Development
India has a long coastline of about 7,517 km, spread on the western and eastern
shelves of the mainland and also along the Islands. It is an important natural
resource for the country's trade. There are 12 major ports and about 200 non-