Year-End- Review-2021- Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

Year-End- Review-2021- Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

Part of: Prelims and Mains GS-III: Space and Technology

• PM Gati Shakti – National Master Plan (NMP)

• • It is a Rs. 100 lakh-crore project for developing ‘holistic infrastructure’.
  • The plan is aimed at easier interconnectivity between road, rail, air and waterways to reduce travel time, improve industrial productivity and developing synergies towards building a more harmonised infrastructure.
  • The push for infrastructure is in line with the government’s efforts to step up capital expenditure in infrastructure to promote economic growth.

• World records: Construction of 2.5 km long 4 lane Concrete pavement at Delhi-Vadodara expressway section within 24 hours.

• Announcement of the voluntary Vehicle Scrappage Policy, which will phase out unfit vehicles from the country- The policy will not only reduce pollution, caused by the old, unfit vehicles from the road but also lead to substantial employment generation. The policy intends to create scrapping infrastructure in the form of Automated Testing Stations and Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs) across the country.

• Started a new registration mark for vehicles under BH series, wherein those eligible for the scheme need not change the number plate of his vehicle while shifting to another state. This was done to ease the burden of re-registration, which is a cumbersome and time-consuming process. 

• In a significant step towards seamless movement of vehicles on the National Highways, the Ministry made it mandatory to use FASTag at all the toll plazas.

• World records: Construction of 2.5 km long 4 lane Concrete pavement at Delhi-Vadodara expressway section within 24 hours.
• Facilitate the issuance of International Driving Permit (IDP) for Indian citizens whose IDP has expired while they are abroad. There was no mechanism for its renewal while citizens were abroad and their IDP had expired. 
• The Ministry has notified adoption of mass emission standards for E20 fuel.
• Electric vehicle Charging Stations are to be provided by the developer as part of the Wayside Amenities (WSAs) being awarded by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
• To revolutionize the transport of goods and reduce the overall logistic costs, the Automotive Industry Standards Committee has amended its AIS-113 Standard to include the safety requirements of Road-Trains.
• The Ministry amended the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989, formalising the registration process of vintage motor vehicles.
• A reward scheme was announced in 2021 for Good Samaritan who has saved life of a victim of a fatal accident involving a motor vehicle by administering immediate assistance and rushing to Hospital within the Golden Hour to provide medical treatment. The amount of award would be Rs 5,000 per incident. An individual Good Samaritan can be awarded maximum 5 times in a year.

News Source: PIB