One-nation-one-card for public transport soon: NITI Aayog
New Delhi, Sep 3: India will shortly unveil a one-nation-one-card policy for public transport that will bring seamless connectivity between various modes of transport, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Monday.
He said a robust transportation sector was the backbone for the development of any economy, especially for a densely populated developing country like India, and the focus of the nation's mobility strategy was on sustainable modes of public transport, transport-oriented planning and digitisation.
"The objective of the strategy is to plan for the citizens first, rather than focusing on vehicles alone, by providing sustainable mobility and accessibility by switching to cleaner mode of transportation," Kant said at the "Future Mobility Summit-2018-India's Move to NextGen Transport Systems".
The road transportation segment alone contributes to around four per cent of India's GDP with the segment still being heavily dependent on fossil fuels.
In the wake of the worsening air quality in the country's major cities, rising concerns of climate change and an ever-increasing oil import bill, mobility is a crucial piece of the development puzzle and the key to unlocking the potential of India's economy and people, the NITI Aayog CEO said.
NITI Aayog Advisor Anil Srivastava said the government was working towards achieving a robust mobility ecosystem across India.
"The citizens, on their part, should work towards sharing a ride, not owning the ride. The government has integrated many stakeholders across departments to drive India's mobility vision," he added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Opposition will question govt at all-party meet about Trump's claims on brokering ceasefire: Kharge
Kalaburagi (PTI): Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said that the opposition will question the government at the all-party meeting, regarding US President Donald Trump's claims that his administration helped broker a "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan.
The Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha said he will urge the government to call an all-party meeting soon, to discuss the latest developments in border tension between India and Pakistan, including "ceasefire".
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "Trump is saying things to claim credit. These people (PM and central government) are saying no. It is a sensitive matter. When an all-party meeting is called, we will discuss — what’s the matter, what happened and what were the telephone talks— and ask all these things”.
In response to a question whether PM Modi gave in to Trump's mediation, he said "It won’t be right for me to speak about it now. We have our party meeting today. I’m going for that. I will ask (centre) to call an all-party meeting, let’s see what they will do."
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on Saturday to end the military conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
Indian government sources have been maintaining that the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions, and no third party was involved.
There was no reference to trade in talks between top leaders of India and the US during the India-Pakistan military conflict, government sources said on Monday after American President Donald Trump claimed that he pressured New Delhi and Islamabad to stop hostilities by threatening to cut trade with both countries.
The source-based clarification came after Trump on Monday said he forced the two countries to stop the hostilities by using the trade card.
Kharge and his party have already demanded that the central government convene a special session of Parliament to discuss the Pahalgam terror attack, Operation Sindoor, and the latest developments in cross-border firing, including the recently announced "ceasefire".
