Auto Parts Asia — August 2017

54 | AutoPartsAsia | AUGUST 2017

EVENT

T

he first edition of the India

International Bus and Car

Travel Show to promote

safe and smart public

transport in India (Prawaas 2017)

brought together all stakeholders

to a single platform. The three-day

event from July 28 to 30, 2017 in Navi

Mumbai succeeded in conveying

the bus operators’ grievances to the

government, making more visible

the government initiatives to make

public transport more viable, and in

highlighting the shifting focus of the

OEMs to green energy for running

buses.

Prawaas 2017, organized by the Bus

Operators Confederation of India

(BOCI) which hosted the leading

OEMs, and the bus operators from

all over India, had 120 exhibitors,

displaying intra and inter-city buses,

school buses, staff buses, tourist cars

and maxi cabs, and with over 10,000

visitors.

Inaugurating the event, Union

Transport and Highways Minister

Nitin Gadkari said the government

would promote green transportation

solutions. “My biggest challenge is

to curb road accidents in the country.

We are bringing in solutions to

reduce deaths due to road accidents

by 50 percent.” He sought support

from all political parties to pass the

Road Transport and Safety Bill in the

Rajya Sabha. “The government is

keen on e-governance so that road

transportation will be corruption-

free, transparent, time-bound and

sustainable to common people,” the

Minister said.

The government will soon announce

2,000 new centres with all facilities

for driving tests in the rural and tribal

areas to meet the requirement of 22

lakh skilled drivers in the country.

RTOs will be mandated to provide

driving licences within three days

of the result to passed candidates.

The centres will also be able to give

fitness and pollution certificates.

According to Gadkari, before his stint

as the Union Transport and Highways

Minister, India had only 54 lakh km

road, out of which National Highways

accounted for 96,000 km, just two

percent of the total roads. “On this

two percent, was 40 percent of India’s

traffic. However, we have converted

175,000 km highways into National

Highways. When we complete two

lakh km of National Highways, 80

percent of the country’s traffic will run

on them and increase the operators’

business,” the Minister said.

Gadkari said, “We are increasing

the speed limit, as demanded by

the operators, from 80 km/ hour

to 120 km/ hour. The official order

will be issued soon. Today I have

rejected the deadline extension

request by body builders for Bus

Code.” Indicating the government’s

intention on diesel buses, he said, “I

will extend full support to buses run

on bio-fuels and electricity. Buses

run on diesel will not have future in

India.” Citing the example of Scania’s

bio ethanol bus project in Nagpur, the

Minister said “the Government will

also look into the second generation

ethanol.” Electric bikes would

be a viable option to beat traffic

congestion, he said.

Rajasthan Transport Minister

Yunus Khan demanded the Union

Government build more sophisticated

bus depots to promote bus

transportation in India.

At the opening of the show, Prasanna

Patwardhan, President, Bus

Prawaas 2017 Showcases

Changes In Public Transport

APA Bureau

L- R: Prasanna Patwardhan, President, Bus Operators Confederation of India (BOCI) and Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Transport, Highways and Shipping,

Government of India at the inaguration of first edition of Prawaas 2017 in Mumbai.