‘IT For Parivahan’ is a nationwide initiative from IT stalwarts such as Dr. Mohandas Pai and Mr. Vinit Goenka for effective governance through public participation by inviting ‘suggestions’ from various stakeholders in transportation sector and the public at large.
The team at ‘IT For Parivahan’ established a direct contact with 1 Crore Indians in one month’s time through a social media campaign only to be flooded by an overwhelming response from the people. In all, more than thirty-five thousand respondents not only expressed their grievances but also shared and explained innovative ideas to overcome difficulties and hindrances in road transport.
For any developed country to maintain a sustainable growth, transportation network such as ‘Roads, Highways, Ports and Waterways’ are key factors. Information Technology plays vital role as single most important tool to improve efficiency, safety, durability, cost management, timeliness and transparency.
IT giants like Dr. Mohandas Pai and Mr. Vinit Goenka kicked off this nationwide initiative to bring in more legitimacy to the cause . Both are members of IT Taskforce (Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways) which is chaired by Hon. Surface Transport Minister Shri. Nitin Gadkari. The mandate of taskforce is – Leveraging IT for transparency, economy, speed and reach to achieve “Minimum Government Maximum Governance”.
The dedicated self-motivated team of more than 100 technocrats worked hard on the initiative to reach out to greater sect of the audience. Team made an appeal for active participation by providing valuable suggestions and insights.
After going through all thirty five thousand responses, our team of experts from fields of IT and transportation selected three thousand of them which were further narrowed down to best of five.
Here is a list of winners and their ideas about improving commutation in India.
Mr. Vishwajeet –
A simple technology with a combination of RFID, GPRS, GPS, smart card reader, 3-axis accelerometer can help address many challenges. This technology will eliminate the need of physical tolls or even policing one way areas and the required toll/fine will be automatically debited from the users’ balance who will also receive an e-receipt. This will take care of over speeding and reduce accidents and deaths, generate genuine revenue for the government 24X7 and curb mal practices.
Mr. Gopi –
He has conceptualized an i-car based technology system which works as a normal car while driving in the neighbourhood and works like a driverless car on highways. This would take care of driving errors, reduce stress, save lives and also increase productivity of the passenger who works while being driven in this driverless car.
Mr. Nitin Shukla –
He says that India needs to strictly monitor transportation of hazardous chemicals by using real time sensors so as to avoid misuse saving human life as well as environment due to accidents happen. It can improve safety, transparency and accountability in transportation sector in India.
Mr. Mandar Joshi –
He presented the concept of very doable approach of creating a pre-licensed training programme based on simulators and video sessions where the learner sees and reacts to real life scenarios involving accidents and other driving mistakes. Only after passing the simulation test will the driver be eligible for the license. Remedial course correction will be made mandatory for those drivers who are booked by the police for various serious irregularities.
Mr. Aabhas Bajpai —
He says that 70 percent of two wheeler and 35 percent of four wheelers are uninsured due to this 38 percent of accident victims in India are uncompensated. .This also increases hit and run cases. To counter this, he says that Indians should use Smart Registration Certificate linked with vehicle insurance. This tracking will be real time and can be tracked by both road transport authority and insurance companies. When insurance expires authorities can issue e-challan and even compound the vehicle. It can also be integrated with ECU which can disable the engine.
All these ideas will be forwarded to the ministry of Road Transport and Highways so that they can be implemented with help from experts to bring a sea-change in our transportation.
The best part of this campaign was that it received a very encouraging response across segments such as common citizens, logistics/transportation organizations and students, IT Sector, Researchers etc. who shared their insightful suggestions and ideas wholeheartedly.
