Iasbaba Yojana Gist November 2015

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Preface This is our 8th edition of Yojana Gist released for the month of November, 2015 on Transport and related issues. Yet the message delivered in the last edition remains the same. Yojana magazine (released by Ministry of I&B) is increasingly finding a place in the questions of both UPSC Prelims and Mains. Every Issue of Yojana deals with a single topic comprehensively sharing views from a wide spectrum ranging from academicians to policy makers to scholars. The magazine is essential to build an in-depth understanding of various socio-economic issues. From the exam point of view, however, not all articles are important. Some go into scholarly depths and others discuss agendas that are not relevant for your preparation. Added to this is the difficulty of going through a large volume of information, facts and analysis to finally extract their essence that may be useful for the exam. We are not discouraging from reading the magazine itself. So, do not take this as a document which you take read, remember and reproduce in the examination. Its only purpose is to equip you with the right understanding. But, if you do not have enough time to go through each and every Yojana magazine, you can rely on the content provided here for it sums up the most essential points from all the articles in Yojana. You need not put hours and hours in reading Yojana and making its notes in pages. We believe, a smart study, rather than hard study, of Yojana can improve your preparation levels.

Think, learn, practice and keep improving! That is the key to success

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SUMMARY OF YOJANA-November, 2015

URBAN TRANSPORT

Facts on urban transport

Urban transport has got attention first time in the 10th FYP with National Urban

Transport Policy, 2006.

National Urban Transport Policy, 2006 objective: “Sustainable Urban Transport” i.e. a

shift from personal to public and non-motorized transport.

The growth rate in the number of vehicles has been much faster than that of

population in urban areas in the country.

Rapid growth in motor vehicles reduced the share of public transport vehicles like

buses and metro rails.

A bus carries 4.5 times more passengers as compared to a car in urban areas.

AMRUT and Smart City Mission focuses on efficient public transport like buses as one

of the important components in developing urban transport.

What are the impacts of rapid motorization?

Congestion

Reduced travel speeds

Threat to safety

Air pollution

Increase in energy consumption

New options for urban transport

Bus Rapid Transit Systems (At present, only 7 BRTS projects operational in the

country)

Metro Rail

Non motor transport

E-rickshaws

Intelligent Transportation Systems – Traffic/Transport Management Applications

Use of alternate fuels like Biogas

Use of Electric Vehicles

Innovative methods of financing infrastructure for urban transport like additional tax

on gasoline, increasing parking fees etc.

Urban transport planning should be “people” focused rather than “engineering”

focused.

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SMART PORTS FOR SAGARMALA

Sagarmala – An ambitious project which aims at “port-led” economic development

The project can realise its goal if the existing ports are transformed into “Smart

Ports”

At present there are 180 ports (small and big) in the country

Of these, only 12 are major ports which are government owned ports

These major ports operate as Trusts under the Major Ports Trust Act, 1963, except

for the Port of Ennore, which is a company under the Companies Act

There are legacy issues with these govt owned major ports- They do not keep pace

with emerging technology, requirements of international trade, emerging trends in

containerisation, flexible rules, size of ships etc.

This model of port being operated as a trust is widely believed to be unsustainable

What can be done to make our ports smart

Ports should be registered as Companies under Companies Act

The port administration should only look after the provisions of infrastructure and

safety and not day-to-day running of the port

The excess human resource should be retrained and redeployed

Pension liabilities should be reduced

Large tracts of land lying vacant in some ports like Mumbai, Kolkata, and Kandla

ports should be put to use

There is a crying need to bring accountability in the port administration

To be more competitive, ports should be well coordinated with railways, customs,

health, environment and other departments of the government

There is still no regulation to control the trade practices. Hence, there is a dire need

to introduce a regulatory architecture that takes care of ex-ante declaration of rates

of services.

Several ports like NhavaSheva Mumbai, Adani port at Mundra and Kandla port have

set up SEZ’s to back their industrial demand mechanism and internationalization

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GREEN TRANSPORT

What is Green Transport?

Any kind of transportation that is eco-friendly and does not have negative impacts

on the environment

Use of renewable energy for transport like Solar, Wind, Electricity, Bio-Fuels etc.

Conceptually, the ‘green’ element of a transport system can be measured in three ways:

i. Energy-efficiency

ii. Carbon-intensity

iii. Extent to which it produces local pollutants that are harmful to human health

Green Transport Hierarchy

It enlists the hierarchy of modes of green transportation. The best green transportation

used is by the walking pedestrian which occupies largest portion and the least green being

the single occupant vehicles which is the smallest portion.

PEDESTRIANS

BICYCLES

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

SERVICE AND FREIGHT VEHICLES

TAXIS

MULTIPLE OCCUPANT VEHICLES

SINGLE OCCUPANT

VEHICLE

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Need for green transport

With increasing number of vehicles, air quality and public health is deteriorating

The problem is exacerbated with the coming of diesel cars

Sulphur levels in fuel remain high, well above the maximum of 10 ppm required for

the best clean vehicle technologies to function optimally

Most of the Indian cities are still following Bharat Stage III norms; only few cities

have adopted Bharat Stage IV norms

Central Pollution Control Board identified in 2008 that around 70 cities are not

complying with the emission standards

Way forward

Clear, strict Recall policies and punitive measures for non-compliant vehicles and

fuels

It should be made compulsory that a new Auto Fuel Policy Committee be formed

every five years, as recommended by Mashelkar Committee in 2003 but it has not

yet been implemented.

Any urban transport plan should integrate non-motorized transport as an integral

part, as recommended by Kirit Parikh Committee on Low Carbon Strategies for

Inclusive Growth.

Once non-motorized transport is facilitated and public transport is provided, parking

fees should be raised to reflect adequately the social cost of congestion

Enough space should be provided for pedestrians, pavements, cycle paths

Dedicated and non-lapsable Urban Transport Funds (UTF) should be set up at

national, state and city levels

Implementation of Green Highways Policy

Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification &

Maintenance) Policy, 2015

AIM: To promote greening of the highway corridors

1 per cent of the total project cost of all highways will be kept

for the highway plantation and its maintenance

The NHAI will act as a fund manager for maintaining a green

fund

The policy will generate employment opportunities for about

5 lakh people from rural areas

There will be strong monitoring mechanism in place by using

ISRO’s GAGAN and BHUVAN satellite systems

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Statistics related to the transport sector and its impact

Transportation accounts for almost 23 per cent of world’s total carbon

dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion

Of these total CO2 emissions, road transport accounts for 75 per cent

oil; this corresponds to 69 per cent of world’s total oil consumption

The transport sector accounts for nearly 18 per cent of the total energy

consumed in India, second only to the industrial sector.

Nearly 98 per cent of the energy needs of transportation are met

through petroleum products, and almost half of the total consumption

of petroleum products in India occurs on account of transport activities.

IMPACT OF TRANSPORT IN 3 DIMENSIONS

DIMENSION PERSPECTIVE-IMPACT

Economic Efficiency

Improvements in mobility brings welfare, accessibility to jobs and services, and

support to economic growth

Environmental Sustainability

Reduce energy intensity Reduce GHG emissions

Reduce particulate matter emissions

Social Sustainability Enhanced access to basic services

Protection from harm

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INDIAN RAILWAYS

Indian Railways is the third largest transportation and logistics network of the world

operating 21000 trains per day.

Energy consumed by Railways is one sixth of corresponding energy consumed on

road traffic

The biggest challenge facing Indian Railways today is its inability to meet the

demands of its customers, both freight and passengers.

Apart from the quantum of investment, quality of service delivery is also an issue.

Other issues

o Cleanliness

o Punctuality of services

o Quality of terminals

o Capacity of trains

o Quality of food

o Security of passengers

o Ease of booking tickets

A new department of Housekeeping has been created to implement the mission of

“Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat”

IR and DRDO together have developed Bio-toilet tanks

IT enabled Integrated Coaching Management System (ICMS) has been launched

which helps in online monitoring of running of trains

Safety overview: A summary

In terms of global benchmarking, IR’s safety record compares favourably with that of

advanced systems of European Railways.

Highest numbers of fatalities over IR occur due to accidents at unmanned level

crossings. These can be minimized with the construction of road over bridges and

road under bridges.

Accidents on account of running staff in terms of Signal Passing of Danger (SPAD) are

a major cause of concern. Hence, Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), an

indigenous solution, to avoid collisions and drivers passing signal at danger needs to

be expedited.

The need of the hour is to undertake massive infrastructure expansion and decongestion

programme coupled with up gradation of technology and judicious electrification of tracks

along with the enhancement of terminal capacity.

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INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT FOR NORTH EAST

The Government of India incorporated the National Highways and Infrastructure

Development Corporation Ltd.(NHIDCL) with the objective to fast pace the construction of

national highways and other infrastructure in the North Eastern states.

How to achieve this?

The plans for infrastructure development should be made on the basis of social

necessity and economic viability.

The geological features of NE region are extremely diverse. The soil ranges from hard

rock to extremely loose. Hence new technologies should be used for soil

stabilisation, construction of tunnels etc.

Establish a North-Eastern Infrastructure Fund for easy financing infrastructure

projects at soft loans

Development of local youth and contractors would certainly pay the way for

inclusive development of the region

Both Union and States should coordinate with each other. For example, forest

clearances, utility shifting remains with the State Govt.; for Highways, cost of the

project, identification of implementing agency etc. rests with the Centre.

If infrastructure requirements of various sectors like Civil Aviation, Communications,

Industry, Power, Transport, Tourism etc. are mapped together and planned for

development with futuristic perspective of 30-40 years following a unified approach

the economic, environmental and social costs can be reduced to a large extent and

pace of infrastructure development be enhanced significantly.

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MANAGING CONGESTION WITH URBAN TRANSPORT

Why congestion is increasing?

Primary cause is the imbalance in the use of road space

Use of high capacity modes of transport i.e. buses and mass rapid transit (MRT) is

limited

Use of low capacity modes of transport i.e. 2-wheelers, 3-wheeler tempos and cars is

increasing

What are the challenges faced by cities?

Urbanization

Migration from rural to urban areas and from small to big cities

Increase in urban population

Requirement of huge funds for urban infrastructure and services

Unlike other urban services like water, electricity and housing, at present, there is no

dedicated agency in most cities to manage urban mobility

What is the way forward in managing congested traffic?

Develop public transport

Small and medium cities (population < 1 million) should introduce or augment city

bus services

Large cities (population > 1 million) should introduce or augment mass rapid transit

modes such as metro rail, light rail transit, bus rapid transit and mono rail as per

demand

The quality of bus services is poor – overcrowded, unreliable and not user-friendly.

This should be changed.

Most of the city bus services operate on losses due to low fares. An SPV could be

setup to manage the finances for bus services.

Traffic engineering and management, both area wise and corridor wise maintains

mobility on the road network and hence should be in sync with the mass rapid

transit network

There must be an integration and coordination between the agencies that manage

rail transit services and bus services. Separation of functions only exacerbates the

working

Congestion cannot be reduced by increasing the capacity of the road network. Experience

shows that congestion returns within a few years. Congestion has to be managed. An

efficient city wide public transport network that provides reliable on-time service will

promote its use and help reduce road congestion. A walk-able city, however, is a necessary

adjunct to manage congestion.

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ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN RURAL ROADWAYS

Population based criteria for connecting habitations under PMGSY leaves the rural

areas with low population aside. Hence, demand based criteria for connecting rural

areas should be adopted

Construction of roads may not ensure accessibility necessarily. Only those who can

afford to have vehicles can make use of it

Traffic on few rural roads constructed a few years ago has increased tremendously

and thus might not be considered as rural roads any more

If they are categorized as Major District Roads or State Highways, then funding might

be a problem as the state governments do not have enough funds to construct and

maintain them

Cost of constructing rural road is increasing and materials used for construction are

becoming scarce and expensive

How to construct rural roads with minimum cost using locally available resources is a

huge challenge

With increasing high speed motor vehicles plying on rural roads, road safety and

pollution are becoming emerging threats

Facts about rural roadways

The first road development plan 1943-61 is popularly known as Nagpur Plan. It classified the road system into a functional hierarchy comprising of

o National Highways o State Highways o Major District Roads o Other District Roads o Village Roads

The last two categories form the rural road systems in the country

Total road network in India is about 4.6 million km of which rural roads are about 2.6 million km.

Constitutionally, the development of rural roads is the responsibility of the State governments in the country

However, from Fifth FYP onwards, Central Government started funding rural road projects

Under the PMGSY, a village may be considered as accessible if it is located within 0.5km and 1.5km band of an all-weather road for plain and hilly desert regions respectively

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AIR TRAVEL IN INDIA

According to Census 2011, there are 4,041 Statutory Towns (all places with a municipality,

corporation, cantonment board, notified town area committee etc.) in India, but only 78 are

connected through air route.

At present there are 10 scheduled air passenger carriers and 9 privately owned. Scheduled

Carrier means those who fly with fares published on the website and with Government

approved timetable.

According to a recent study by Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, India is the cheapest country

to fly 100 km among 43 countries sampled from across the globe.

Major issues/problems

Setting up business is a big headache. A report on Doing Business (2015) by World Bank

mentions that in Mumbai, a company needs to complete 13 procedures and to spend

almost 30 days just to complete the basic formalities for starting a business.

Average sales tax on aviation fuel (Aviation Turbine Fuel) is 24 per cent in various states.

This along with various central levies makes fuel much more costly. Fuel alone contributes

up to 50 per cent of the operation cost ofan Indian carrier in comparison to 30-32 per cent

globally.

Despite all these, if India ranks lowest in airfare among 43 countries, that means basic fare is

low and which is why Indian carriers are estimated to have borne a loss of over 7,000 crores

during 2014-15, despite 35 per cent reduction in jet fuel cost during the year.

‘5/20 RULE’ Any Indian carrier can start flying abroad, if it has

completed five years of domestic flying and has at least

20 aircrafts in its fleet. This is called “5/20 rule”

Many other countries permit their carriers to fly abroad

from the day 1 even if they have 4-5 aircrafts.

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INLAND WATERWAYS AS NATIONAL WATERWAYS

The Government of India has approved the proposal for enactment of Central Legislation for

declaring 101 additional Inland Waterways as National Waterways for navigation

Central government can undertake development of inland waterways for navigation, only

when it is declared as National Waterways by an Act of Parliament.

IWT is recognized as fuel efficient, cost effective and environment friendly mode of

transport especially for bulk goods, hazardous goods and over dimensional cargo.

India’s 5 National Waterways

1. Allahabad-Haldia of Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly system

2. Dhubri-Sadiya of Brahmaputra

3. Kottapuram-Kollam along west coast

4. Kakinada-Puducherry of Godavari and Krishna

5. Stretches of East coast canal, Brahmani river, and Mahanadi delta

The IWT sector presently has a meagre modal share of 0.4% in India compared to 42% in

Netherlands, 8.7% in China and over 8% in USA. This is a great economic opportunity loss to

the country.

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MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

Q.1 Consider the following statements

1. There are only 5 National Waterways in the country 2. Central Govt can undertake development of an inland waterway for navigation, only

when it is declared as National Waterways by an act of Parliament. 3. Making laws on shipping and navigation on inland waterways which are classified as

national waterways comes under Union List.

Which of the above statements is/are TRUE?

a) Only 2 and 3 b) Only 1 c) Only 3 d) All of the above

ANS: D

Q. 2 Consider the following statements about National Mission for Sustainable Habitat, 2009

1. The National Mission for Sustainable Habitat (NMSH), 2009 focuses on greater use of non-motorized transport as an important strategy for reducing GHG emissions.

2. NMSH, 2009 is one of the eight missions approved under the National Action Plan on Climate Change


a) Only 1 b) Only 2 c) Both 1 and 2 d) None of the above

ANS: C Q.3 Consider the following statements on ports in India

1. India has only 12 major ports 2. All the major ports are government owned 3. Kolkata port is the only riverine port in India


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a) Only 1 b) Only 1 and 3 c) Only 1 and 2 d) All the above

ANS: D Q.4 Consider the following statements on “Sagarmala” project

1. The major aim of the Sagarmala project is to boost the economy by undertaking port-led development

2. According to this project, the entire country has been divided into 7 maritime zones, coinciding with the 7 maritime states in India

Which of the two statements is/are TRUE?


ANS: A [India has 9 maritime states (coastal states) and the project divides country into 9 maritime zones] Q.5 Consider the following statements about energy consumption of the transport sector in India

1. Transport sector is the second largest energy consumption sector after Industry 2. Petroleum products contribute a major part in meeting the energy needs of

transport sector Which of the above statements is/are FALSE?


ANS: D

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Q.6 Consider the following statements on roadways in India

1. The road networks in India is the second largest in the world 2. The National Highways constitute less than 2 per cent of the entire road network in

India Which of the above statements is/are TRUE?


ANS: C Q.7 Consider the following statements on Green Highways Policy, 2015

1. 100 per cent of the total project cost of highways development should be set aside for plantation and its maintenance

2. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will act as a fund manager for maintaining the green fund

3. A strong monitoring mechanism will be put in place using ISRO’s GAGAN and Bhuvan satellite systems


a) All the above b) Only 2 and 3 c) Only 1 and 2 d) Only 1 and 3

ANS: B[Only 1 per cent required for plantation] Q. 8 Consider the following statements on Indian Railways

1. Indian Railways is the third largest transportation and logistics network in the world 2. Indian Railways has recently developed environment friendly Bio-toilets for use in

coaches in collaboration with ISRO Which of the above statements is/are TRUE?


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ANS: A [Its Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Indian Railways together developed Bio toilets] Q.9 Consider the following statements

1. The Diamond Quadrilateral is a roadway project that connects Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-Kolkata

2. The Golden Quadrilateral is a high speed rail network that connects Delhi-Mumbai-Chennai-Kolkata

Which of the two statements is/are TRUE?


ANS: D [Diamond Quadrilateral: rail network; Golden Quadrilateral: highway project] Q. 10 What is “e-Hastakshar”, which was launched recently?

1. It is a new project which aims at improving literacy rate in the country through online education

2. It is an online typing tutorial launched by the Govt of India 3. It is an online electronic signature service which allows citizens to sign documents

digitally 4. All the above

ANS: 3 Q.11 Who among the following is the chairman of “High Level Safety Review Committee” appointed for Indian Railways?

a) K V Kamath b) Sam Pitroda c) A K Bhargava d) Anil Kakodkar

ANS: D

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Q.12 Consider the following statements

1. Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana was aimed at improving road connectivity in rural areas.

2. It provides all-weather roads to all the habitations having population of 1000 and above in the plains and 500 and above in hilly, desert and tribal areas.

3. World Bank has provided financial support to the programme Which of the above statements is/are TRUE?

a) Only 1 and 2 b) Only 2 c) Only 3 d) All the above

ANS: D Q.13 The Government of India has recently agreed to set up “Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC)”. Consider the following statements regarding ISLRTC.

1. It is a research and training centre for developing new languages in the field of literature

2. It comes under the Ministry of Human resource and Development Which of the above statements is/are TRUE?


ANS: D [ISLRTC provides for increased accessibility for the hearing impaired in education, in the workplace and in all activities of public life. It comes under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.]

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Q.14 Consider the following statements about “Rural Access Indicator”

1. It is defined as the proportion of number of rural people who live within 2 kilometres of an all-weather road to the total rural population

2. Under PMGSY (Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana), a habitation is considered to have connectivity if there is an existing all weather road within 500 metres of the habitation

3. The Rural Access Indicator was developed by World Bank Which of the above statements is/are TRUE?

a) Only 1 b) Only 2 and 3 c) Only 1 and 3 d) All the above

ANS: D

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Iasbaba Yojana Gist November 2015

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