Wednesday, February 24, 2010
CGPA upto III sem
1. We can find CGPA up to II sem (B2) in II semester mark sheet above the signature of controller of examinations.
2. CLICK HERE to find III sem GPA (B4)
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Challenges and opportunities of Entrepreneurship in Globalizing Economy
Entrepreneurship is the practice of converting opportunities into profit in terms of money and satisfaction through novel business. Economic globalization has been accelerated since 1980s. India became a part of global village with the liberalization of trade laws made in 1991. Since then, number of entrepreneurs and market volume are increasing rapidly. Economic globalization has enabled easy trans-national trade, which in turn boosts challenging entrepreneurship.
Globalization is astoundingly changing the world's economic landscape, far beyond what computerization has done in the past two decades. It is creating and forcing profound changes in start-ups, business organizations - large and small, both in terms of processes and in the nature of their final products. As these changes take place, it creates more challenges and opportunities for entrepreneurship across the world. These challenges and opportunities cannot be dealt easily without learning their impact on every business. Every factor acts as an opportunity and a challenge to entrepreneurship. For example, globalization has created a new scope for both exports and imports. This is not only an opportunity for an entrepreneur to export but also a challenge as he has to compete with global players and their standards.
Challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship can be analyzed in detail by studying the status of entrepreneurship before and after global economic changes. Entrepreneurship is an agent for global economic changes and also a respondent to such changes. The scope for entrepreneurship is to be described perspicuously in the paper “Challenges and opportunities of Entrepreneurship in Globalizing economy”
Challenges:
Chances of dumping
Changes in WTO
Internal & International politics
Wars
Changes in rules and laws (including foreign countries)
Heavy competition from giants
Dependence on other country’s economy
Eco friendly & Labor friendly
Unequal competition
Perfect competition in market
Restriction to surplus
Opportunities:
Large scope for exports
Offers from Govt. of various countries
Tax cuts in SEZs
Westernization
Increasing Purchasing power
Easy entry
HR availability
Value addition
Technology
Globalization is astoundingly changing the world's economic landscape, far beyond what computerization has done in the past two decades. It is creating and forcing profound changes in start-ups, business organizations - large and small, both in terms of processes and in the nature of their final products. As these changes take place, it creates more challenges and opportunities for entrepreneurship across the world. These challenges and opportunities cannot be dealt easily without learning their impact on every business. Every factor acts as an opportunity and a challenge to entrepreneurship. For example, globalization has created a new scope for both exports and imports. This is not only an opportunity for an entrepreneur to export but also a challenge as he has to compete with global players and their standards.
Challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship can be analyzed in detail by studying the status of entrepreneurship before and after global economic changes. Entrepreneurship is an agent for global economic changes and also a respondent to such changes. The scope for entrepreneurship is to be described perspicuously in the paper “Challenges and opportunities of Entrepreneurship in Globalizing economy”
Challenges:
Chances of dumping
Changes in WTO
Internal & International politics
Wars
Changes in rules and laws (including foreign countries)
Heavy competition from giants
Dependence on other country’s economy
Eco friendly & Labor friendly
Unequal competition
Perfect competition in market
Restriction to surplus
Opportunities:
Large scope for exports
Offers from Govt. of various countries
Tax cuts in SEZs
Westernization
Increasing Purchasing power
Easy entry
HR availability
Value addition
Technology
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Stress Management
INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES FOR SM- MIND
This is a question that keeps creeping one’s mind these days.
We need to take charge of our mind first.
Being socially interactive and [doing] things you want to do . . . whether that's talking or sharing activities, can keep you healthier."
Not being too serious or being in a constant alert mode helps to maintain the equanimity of mind and promote clear thinking.
Build a Strong Rapport and maintain a Healthier Relationship. (Care about others)
Do hang out with friends and Try to Amuse Yourself.
Be independent, Dynamic and assertive.
You should greet people warmly especially in the morning. This habit will fill you with positive energy and you will start the day with glory.
Be thoughtful, Sportive, and Interactive.
Deliberately undertake a Counseling Session to Relieve Depression.
Have an attitude, “What you brought and what you are Gonna Take”.
Bear in mind that, you are human and no one is perfect in life,
Although you cannot necessarily change what happens to you, you can change how you handle it.
Learn to draw and create an architect mind.
Listen to soothing music, when u hear music it stretches out tensions in muscles and veins.
Reading enchanting books…because when our mind is stressed out it cant think logically or sequentially, it pumps lot of blood leading to tiredness, dizziness due to lack of adequate supply of blood.
Don’t Contemplate with Contingency.
INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES TO TAME THE LOGICAL FUNCTIONING OF MIND BY HEALTHIER DIET SYSTEM
Rejuvenate and Revitalize yourself whenever required by Massage, etc
Don’t do meditation after an Intensification of your thought process.
Deep breathing is a good stress management technique
If you're jittery bundle of nerves, start eating for stress relief. The following five foods will calm you down and make you feel fit enough to handle, whatever life can throw at you
Avocados Lower Your Blood Pressure
Oats, Your Serotonin Enhancer
Oranges - Fast Stress Relief
Salmon Keeps Cortisol and Adrenaline in Check
Skim Milk, Calms You and Relieves PMS
This is a question that keeps creeping one’s mind these days.
We need to take charge of our mind first.
Being socially interactive and [doing] things you want to do . . . whether that's talking or sharing activities, can keep you healthier."
Not being too serious or being in a constant alert mode helps to maintain the equanimity of mind and promote clear thinking.
Build a Strong Rapport and maintain a Healthier Relationship. (Care about others)
Do hang out with friends and Try to Amuse Yourself.
Be independent, Dynamic and assertive.
You should greet people warmly especially in the morning. This habit will fill you with positive energy and you will start the day with glory.
Be thoughtful, Sportive, and Interactive.
Deliberately undertake a Counseling Session to Relieve Depression.
Have an attitude, “What you brought and what you are Gonna Take”.
Bear in mind that, you are human and no one is perfect in life,
Although you cannot necessarily change what happens to you, you can change how you handle it.
Learn to draw and create an architect mind.
Listen to soothing music, when u hear music it stretches out tensions in muscles and veins.
Reading enchanting books…because when our mind is stressed out it cant think logically or sequentially, it pumps lot of blood leading to tiredness, dizziness due to lack of adequate supply of blood.
Don’t Contemplate with Contingency.
INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES TO TAME THE LOGICAL FUNCTIONING OF MIND BY HEALTHIER DIET SYSTEM
Rejuvenate and Revitalize yourself whenever required by Massage, etc
Don’t do meditation after an Intensification of your thought process.
Deep breathing is a good stress management technique
If you're jittery bundle of nerves, start eating for stress relief. The following five foods will calm you down and make you feel fit enough to handle, whatever life can throw at you
Avocados Lower Your Blood Pressure
Oats, Your Serotonin Enhancer
Oranges - Fast Stress Relief
Salmon Keeps Cortisol and Adrenaline in Check
Skim Milk, Calms You and Relieves PMS
Problems due to Indian roads
PROBLEM DUE TO INFRASTRUCTURE DEFICITS
“India has underinvested in infrastructure for 60 years, and we're behind what we need by 10 to 12 years," says T.V. Mohandas Pai, director of human resources for Infosys.
India's high-tech services industry has set the country's economic flywheel spinning. Growth is running at 9%-plus this year. The likes of Wal-Mart (WMT ), Vodafone (VOD ), and Citigroup (C ) are placing multibillion-dollar bets on the country, lured by its 300 million-strong middle class. Real estate has shot through the roof, with some prices doubling in the past year.
But this economic boom is being built on the shakiest of foundations. Highways, modern bridges, world-class airports, reliable power, and clean water are in desperately short supply. And what's already there is literally crumbling under the weight of progress. In December,2006 a bridge in eastern India collapsed, killing 34 passengers in a train rumbling underneath. Economic losses from congestion and poor roads alone are as high as $6 billion a year, says Gajendra Haldea, an adviser to the federal Planning Commission.
The infrastructure deficit is so critical that it could prevent India from achieving the prosperity that finally seems to be within its grasp. Jagdish N. Bhagwati, a professor at Columbia University, figures gross domestic product growth would run two percentage points higher if the country had decent roads, railways, and power.
The problems are even contributing to overheating in the economy. Inflation spiked in the third week of July,2008 to nearly 11.98%, due in part to bottlenecks caused by the country's lousy transport network.
India today is about where China was a decade ago. Back then, China's economy was shifting into overdrive, but its roads and power grid weren't up to the task. So Beijing launched a massive upgrade initiative, building more than 25,000 miles of expressways that now crisscross the country and are as good as the best roads in the U.S. or Europe. India, by contrast, has just around 5000 miles of such highways. It's no wonder that when foreign companies weigh putting new plants in China vs. India to produce global exports, China more often wins out.
China's lead in infrastructure is likely to grow, too. Beijing plows about 9% of its GDP into public works, compared with New Delhi's 4%. And because of its authoritarian government, China gets faster results. "If you have to build a road in China, just a handful of people need to make a decision," says Daniel Vasella, chief executive of pharmaceutical giant Novartis (NVS ). "If you want to build a road in India, it'll take 10 years of discussion before you get a decision."
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN THE AGRICULTURAL DOMAIN
Agriculture is stagnant in part because of the lack in most rudimentary roads to and from fields. Up to 40% of farm produce is lost because it rots in the fields or spoils en route to consumers, which contributes to rising prices for staples such as lentils and onions.
N. Tarupthurai, for instance, scratches out a living from a five-acre plot in Jinnuru, a village in northeastern Andhra Pradesh. But his fields are more than a mile from the nearest paved road, so each day the 40-year-old Tarupthurai must carry his tools, seeds, fertilizer, and crops down a dirt path on his back or on his bicycle. "I have asked for a road, and the government says it's under consideration," says the farmer. Then he shrugs.
PROBLEMS FACED BY FOREIGN COMPANIES IN INDIA
Just about every foreign company operating in India has a horror story of the hardships of doing business there. Nokia Corp. (NOK ) saw thousands of its cellular phones ruined in October, 2006 when a shipment from its factory in Chennai was soaked by rain because there was no room to warehouse the crates of handsets at the local airport. Japan's Maruti Suzuki says trucking its cars 900 miles from its factory in Gurgaon to the port in Mumbai can take up to 10 days. That's partly due to delays at the three state borders along the way, where drivers are stalled as officials check their papers. But it's also because big rigs are barred from India's congested cities during the day, when they might bring dense traffic to a standstill. Once at the port, the Japanese company's autos can wait weeks for the next outbound ship because there's not enough dock space for cargo carriers to load and unload.
With virtually no mass transit in Bangalore, Indian technology firm Infosys Technologies Ltd. spends $5 million a year on buses, minivans, and taxis to transport its 18,000 employees to and from Electronics City. And traffic jams mean workers can spend upwards of four hours commuting each day.
India's summer monsoons wreak havoc, too. Even relatively light rains can choke sewers, flood streets, and paralyze a city, while downpours are devastating. Two years ago, Florida-based contract manufacturer Jabil Circuit Inc. saw shipments of computers and networking gear from its plant near Mumbai delayed for five days after an epic storm.
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO ), the American networking equipment giant, has had a research and development office in India since 1999 and already has 2,000 engineers in the country. Although Cisco says the quality of the workmanship is up to snuff, it has to fly parts in because the ports are so slow—and getting them to the factory right when they're needed is proving nettlesome. "We believe in manufacturing in India, but we don't believe in logistics in India—yet," says Wim Elfrink, Cisco's chief globalization officer. Elfrink adds that unless the Chennai operation demonstrates it can run as efficiently as Cisco setups elsewhere, it won't go into full production as planned this summer.
ROLE OF CORRUPTION AND POLITICS
Then there's "leakage"—India's euphemism for rampant corruption. Nearly all sectors of officialdom are riddled with graft, from neighborhood cops to district bureaucrats to state ministers. Corruption delays infrastructure projects and raises costs for those that move ahead.
One reason little practical help makes it from the seats of power to India's impoverished villages is that so much money gets siphoned off along the way. With corrupt officials skimming at every step, many public works projects either go over budget or are never completed. "You figure that 25% of the cost goes to corruption," says Verghese Jacob, head of the Byrraju Foundation, which promotes rural development. "And then they do such a bad job that the road falls apart in one year and has to be patched over again."
While the laws of supply and demand would argue that India's infrastructure gap can be filled, that logic ignores the corrosive effect of the country's politics. For instance, to gain the favor of voters, Indian politicians have long subsidized electricity and water for farmers, a policy that has discouraged private investment in those areas. That's what wrecked the now-infamous Dabhol Power plant. In the late 1990s, Enron, GE, and Bechtel spent a total of $2.8 billion building a huge complex near Mumbai capable of producing more than 2,000 megawatts of electricity. But a government power authority set prices so low that it was uneconomical for Dabhol to operate, and the whole deal fell apart. (The plant, taken over by an Indian organization, now runs only fitfully.
“India has underinvested in infrastructure for 60 years, and we're behind what we need by 10 to 12 years," says T.V. Mohandas Pai, director of human resources for Infosys.
India's high-tech services industry has set the country's economic flywheel spinning. Growth is running at 9%-plus this year. The likes of Wal-Mart (WMT ), Vodafone (VOD ), and Citigroup (C ) are placing multibillion-dollar bets on the country, lured by its 300 million-strong middle class. Real estate has shot through the roof, with some prices doubling in the past year.
But this economic boom is being built on the shakiest of foundations. Highways, modern bridges, world-class airports, reliable power, and clean water are in desperately short supply. And what's already there is literally crumbling under the weight of progress. In December,2006 a bridge in eastern India collapsed, killing 34 passengers in a train rumbling underneath. Economic losses from congestion and poor roads alone are as high as $6 billion a year, says Gajendra Haldea, an adviser to the federal Planning Commission.
The infrastructure deficit is so critical that it could prevent India from achieving the prosperity that finally seems to be within its grasp. Jagdish N. Bhagwati, a professor at Columbia University, figures gross domestic product growth would run two percentage points higher if the country had decent roads, railways, and power.
The problems are even contributing to overheating in the economy. Inflation spiked in the third week of July,2008 to nearly 11.98%, due in part to bottlenecks caused by the country's lousy transport network.
India today is about where China was a decade ago. Back then, China's economy was shifting into overdrive, but its roads and power grid weren't up to the task. So Beijing launched a massive upgrade initiative, building more than 25,000 miles of expressways that now crisscross the country and are as good as the best roads in the U.S. or Europe. India, by contrast, has just around 5000 miles of such highways. It's no wonder that when foreign companies weigh putting new plants in China vs. India to produce global exports, China more often wins out.
China's lead in infrastructure is likely to grow, too. Beijing plows about 9% of its GDP into public works, compared with New Delhi's 4%. And because of its authoritarian government, China gets faster results. "If you have to build a road in China, just a handful of people need to make a decision," says Daniel Vasella, chief executive of pharmaceutical giant Novartis (NVS ). "If you want to build a road in India, it'll take 10 years of discussion before you get a decision."
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN THE AGRICULTURAL DOMAIN
Agriculture is stagnant in part because of the lack in most rudimentary roads to and from fields. Up to 40% of farm produce is lost because it rots in the fields or spoils en route to consumers, which contributes to rising prices for staples such as lentils and onions.
N. Tarupthurai, for instance, scratches out a living from a five-acre plot in Jinnuru, a village in northeastern Andhra Pradesh. But his fields are more than a mile from the nearest paved road, so each day the 40-year-old Tarupthurai must carry his tools, seeds, fertilizer, and crops down a dirt path on his back or on his bicycle. "I have asked for a road, and the government says it's under consideration," says the farmer. Then he shrugs.
PROBLEMS FACED BY FOREIGN COMPANIES IN INDIA
Just about every foreign company operating in India has a horror story of the hardships of doing business there. Nokia Corp. (NOK ) saw thousands of its cellular phones ruined in October, 2006 when a shipment from its factory in Chennai was soaked by rain because there was no room to warehouse the crates of handsets at the local airport. Japan's Maruti Suzuki says trucking its cars 900 miles from its factory in Gurgaon to the port in Mumbai can take up to 10 days. That's partly due to delays at the three state borders along the way, where drivers are stalled as officials check their papers. But it's also because big rigs are barred from India's congested cities during the day, when they might bring dense traffic to a standstill. Once at the port, the Japanese company's autos can wait weeks for the next outbound ship because there's not enough dock space for cargo carriers to load and unload.
With virtually no mass transit in Bangalore, Indian technology firm Infosys Technologies Ltd. spends $5 million a year on buses, minivans, and taxis to transport its 18,000 employees to and from Electronics City. And traffic jams mean workers can spend upwards of four hours commuting each day.
India's summer monsoons wreak havoc, too. Even relatively light rains can choke sewers, flood streets, and paralyze a city, while downpours are devastating. Two years ago, Florida-based contract manufacturer Jabil Circuit Inc. saw shipments of computers and networking gear from its plant near Mumbai delayed for five days after an epic storm.
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO ), the American networking equipment giant, has had a research and development office in India since 1999 and already has 2,000 engineers in the country. Although Cisco says the quality of the workmanship is up to snuff, it has to fly parts in because the ports are so slow—and getting them to the factory right when they're needed is proving nettlesome. "We believe in manufacturing in India, but we don't believe in logistics in India—yet," says Wim Elfrink, Cisco's chief globalization officer. Elfrink adds that unless the Chennai operation demonstrates it can run as efficiently as Cisco setups elsewhere, it won't go into full production as planned this summer.
ROLE OF CORRUPTION AND POLITICS
Then there's "leakage"—India's euphemism for rampant corruption. Nearly all sectors of officialdom are riddled with graft, from neighborhood cops to district bureaucrats to state ministers. Corruption delays infrastructure projects and raises costs for those that move ahead.
One reason little practical help makes it from the seats of power to India's impoverished villages is that so much money gets siphoned off along the way. With corrupt officials skimming at every step, many public works projects either go over budget or are never completed. "You figure that 25% of the cost goes to corruption," says Verghese Jacob, head of the Byrraju Foundation, which promotes rural development. "And then they do such a bad job that the road falls apart in one year and has to be patched over again."
While the laws of supply and demand would argue that India's infrastructure gap can be filled, that logic ignores the corrosive effect of the country's politics. For instance, to gain the favor of voters, Indian politicians have long subsidized electricity and water for farmers, a policy that has discouraged private investment in those areas. That's what wrecked the now-infamous Dabhol Power plant. In the late 1990s, Enron, GE, and Bechtel spent a total of $2.8 billion building a huge complex near Mumbai capable of producing more than 2,000 megawatts of electricity. But a government power authority set prices so low that it was uneconomical for Dabhol to operate, and the whole deal fell apart. (The plant, taken over by an Indian organization, now runs only fitfully.
Indian Road transport
INTRODUCTION:
Transport is an essential means for enhancing economic and social development. It is indispensable for the efficient development and functioning of most social and economic sectors and for linking together any society. In a development context, a well functioning transport network contributes towards reduced economic costs, as a result of savings in transport costs; it also contributes towards timely delivery of inputs to production processes; and more generally, it opens up possibilities for efficient utilization of economic and human resources. A functioning transport network increases the mobility of the labour force, provides easier access to higher education facilities, as well as better all round communication in a society. In summary, a well functioning transport system contributes closely to measures of economic growth in the country.
Logistics in India is poised for a significant leap forward in the coming years. The Logistics Industry size has touched the level of $ 90 billion and is expected to reach $ 110 billion by 2010. Container traffic is estimated to reach 960 million tonnes by 2013-14.
Passenger traffic has increased due to large urban population, inadequate public transport, diffused institutional arrangements and as Cities show vertices of continued growth.
Roads carry about 70% of the freight and 85% of passenger traffic. With focus on the improvement of roads and planned investment, the sector is expected to grow at 10% by 2010. National Highways constitute only about 2% of the road network but carry about 40% of the total road traffic . Number of vehicles has been growing at an average pace of 10.16% per annum over the last five years. Therefore, the economic development of the country, consequent surge in the demand for transport services and the strategic needs of the country necessitated expansion as well as improvement of the road network. The country has to take up this uphill task in a planned manner.
ROAD TRANSPORT IN INDIA
TYPES OF ROADWAYS: The total road length in India has increased significantly from 0.399 million kms as of March 31, 1951 to 3.38 million kms as of March 31, 2004 making Indian road network one of the largest road networks in the world. The surfaced road lengths have also increased from 0.157 million kms to around 1.604 million kms in the same period. Surface length constitutes 47.3% of total road length as of March 31, 2004, up from a level of 39.3% of the total road length as of March 31, 1951.
The entire network is classified into five distinct categories perhaps from the viewpoint of management and administration. The five categories are:
- National Highways (NH)
- State Highways (SH)
- Major District Roads (MDR)
- Other District Roads (ODR)
- Village Roads (VR)
Among the different categories of roads, National Highways constitute around 2%, State Highways 4% while 94 per cent of the entire network comprises ODR, MDR and VR. Out of these, PWD Roads are 21%, Urban Roads 7% and the rest of the road length in India is accounted for by the rural roads. While development and maintenance of National Highways is under the purview of the Centre, all other categories of roads come under the purview of the respective States/ UT Governments.
The National Highways (NHs) have a length of 65,569 km and run across the length and breadth of India facilitating medium and long distance inter- city passenger & freight traffic. Though they comprise only about 2 per cent of the road network, they carry about 40 per cent of the road based traffic.
State Highways (SHs) and Major District Roads (MDRs) constitute the secondary system of road infrastructure of India. The State Highways provide linkages with the National Highways, district headquarters, important towns, tourist centres and minor ports and carry the traffic along major centres within the State. Their total length is about 137,711 km. Major District Roads run within the district, connecting areas of production with markets, rural areas to the district headquarters and to State Highways/ National Highways.
By acting as the link between the rural and urban areas, the State Highways and Major District Roads contribute significantly to the development of the rural economy and industrial growth of India. It is assessed that the secondary system caries about 40 per cent of the total road traffic and comprises about 20% of the total road length.
The last link in the chain is rural roads. The access to villages within a district or between different districts is provided by Other District Roads (ODRs) and Village Roads (VRs). These roads also meet the social needs of the villagers and are also a means for transportation of agriculture produce from the villages to nearby markets. Rural connectivity is a key component of rural development and contributes significantly to generating higher agricultural incomes and productive employment opportunities besides promoting access to economic and social services. Studies show that rural roads have a significant impact on poverty reduction as well.
Indian road network of 33 lakh Km.is second largest in the world and consists of :
Length(In Km)
Expressways 200
National Highways 66,590
State Highways 1,31,899
Major District Roads 4,67,763
Rural and Other Roads 26,50,000
Total Length 33 Lakhs Kms(Approx)
NATIONAL HIGHWAYS:
OBJECTIVE:
1. To determine the existing inadequacies in Indian roadways and deficits in infrastructure development.
2. To define the problems which arise as a result of such infrastructure deficits.
3. To suggest specific brain-stormed solutions to such problems.
GROWTH TRENDS
With over 1 billion population and 3.319m km
of road network, India’s road transport system
is the second largest in the world after the US.
Total vehicle fleet has grown from meager 0.3m
in 1951 to be estimated 28.45m in 2007
(Excluding 54.5m motorized two-wheelers).
There has been a rapid increase in the number
of goods vehicle in India from 82,000 in 1951
to estimated 4.68m in 2007.
Thus, it plays a significant role in overall
economic development of the country.
Currently, India’s road logistic system handles
over 900 billion tonnes-km of freight per annum. However, the supply of roadways and
highways, in terms of capacity and quality, has not gone up at the pace demanded by the road transport system.
National Highways: The National Highways running across the length and breadth of the country connect all state capitals, major ports, international boundaries, areas of economic and strategic importance, etc. The present total length of NHs is about 66,674 km. An overwhelming proportion of the total length of NHs is two or single laned (56% and 32 % of the total length of national highways are double/intermediate lane and single lane respectively) and only 12 per cent of the length of the NHs are four lane and more. The NHs constitutes less than 2 per cent of the road length of the country but carry about 40 % of the road based traffic.
In order to expand and improve road connectivity in the country, the Government has launched National Highways Development Project (NHDP). It is the largest highway project ever undertaken in the country. The NHDP is being implemented by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Government has envisaged investment of Rs.2,35,430 crore for upgradation of National Highways under various phases of NHDP over the medium term.
State Highways and Major District Roads: State Highways and Major District Roads constitute the secondary system of road transportation in the country. The State Highways provide linkages with the National Highways, district headquarters, important towns, tourist centres and minor ports.
funds from the Central Road Fund are provided for improvement of State Roads other than rural roads. At present, the annual amount available from this source is about Rs. 1560 crore.
Inter State Connectivity: To promote inter-state facilities and also to assist the State Governments in their economic development through construction of roads and bridges of Inter-state and economic importance, Central Government provides 100% grant for inter-state connectivity projects and 50% grant for projects of economic importance.
Rural roads: Rural roads connect villages giving access to rural population to the National Highways through Major District Roads and State Highways. Around 59 per cent of the total road length is accounted by rural roads largely built under Jawahar Rojgar Yojna. These roads are of limited value from the point of view of movement of heavy traffic.
Roads are also being developed in rural areas under the Pradahn Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). The objective of PMGSY is to link all villages with a population of more than 500 people with all-weather roads by the year 2007. This is being implemented by Ministry of Rural Development
Growth in Human Resource Requirements & Training
The total manpower requirement for the public passenger and freight road transport sector is estimated to grow from 17.9 million in 2007 to 24.7 million in 2012. It is noteworthy that more than three-fifth of the manpower requirement consists of drivers, of which almost four-fifth need to be absorbed in Goods Vehicles category. This clearly makes driver the most vital manpower resource in the road transport sector. The quality of drivers has a vital bearing on quality and productivity of transport service specially, with respect to road safety, fuel economy, and efficiency of the sector.
Growth in Road Accidents
The total number of accidents reported by all the States/ Union Territories (UTs) in the last year were 4, 39, 255 of which 83,491 or 19% of total accidents were fatal; the number of persons killed in the accidents were 94,968 (i.e. an average of one fatality per 4.6 accidents) and; the number of persons injured at 4, 65,282 exceeded total number of accidents (4, 39,255) in last year. The proportion of fatal accidents in the total accidents has increased since 2001. The severity of road accidents measured in terms of persons killed per 100 accidents has also increased from less than 20 in 2001 to more than 22 in current years.
Road Accidents in India, 1970-2005
(Data Relates to Calendar Year) ( In thousands)
Year Road Accidents Persons Killed Persons Injured
1 2 3 4
1970 114.1 14.5 70.1
1971 120.2 15.0 70.7
1972 122.3 16.1 76.4
1973 121.6 17.6 79.3
1974 114.3 17.3 76.7
1975 116.8 16.9 77.0
1976 124.7 17.8 82.5
1977 135.4 20.1 95.6
1978 146.3 21.8 99.5
1979 144.4 22.6 102.9
1980 153.2 24.6 109.1
1981 161.2 28.4 114.0
1982 166.2 30.7 126.0
1983 177.0 32.8 134.1
1984 195.0 35.1 156.2
1985 207.0 39.2 163.4
1986 215.5 40.0 176.4
1987 234.0 44.4 189.0
1988 246.7 46.6 214.8
1989 270.0 50.7 229.7
1990 282.6 54.1 244.1
1991 293.4 56.4 255.0
1992 260.3 57.2 267.2
1993 280.1 60.7 287.8
1994 320.4 64.0 311.5
1995 348.9 70.6 323.2
1996 371.2 74.6 369.5
1997 373.7 77.0 378.4
1998 385.0 79.9 390.7
1999 386.4 82.0 375.0
2000 391.4 78.9 399.3
2001 405.6 80.9 405.2
2002 407.5 84.7 408.7
2003 406.7 86.0 435.1
2004 429.9 92.6 464.5
2005 439.2 94.9 465.2
From the table, it is obvious that the accident rate is increasing year after year in Indian roadways
Growth in vehicles :
Motor vehicle population has recorded significant growth over the years. India had 79.7 million registered motor vehicles at the end of last fiscal year. The growth of vehicular traffic on roads has been far greater than the growth of the highways; as a result the main arteries face capacity saturation. Between 1951 and 2007 the vehicle population grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of close to 11 per cent. Personalized mode (constituting mainly two wheelers and cars) account for more than four-fifth of the motor vehicles in the country compared to their share of little over three-fifth in 1951. Further break up of motor vehicle population reflects preponderance of two-wheelers with a share of more than 71 per cent in total vehicle population, followed by cars with 13 per cent and other vehicles (a heterogeneous category which includes 3 wheelers, trailers, tractors etc.) with 9.4 per cent.
The growth in vehicles till this year and their projected growth in future are described in the following graphs, with their inferences
Rise in income and growth in vehicles ownership
Projection of motor vehicles on road and vehicle mix (thousand vehicles)
Inference:
From 60 million vehicles in 2005
537 million in 2030 (9% annual growth)
671 million in 2030 (10% annual growth
Investment Policy :
There is growth in Government initiatives for promotion of this key infrastructural sector includes
• Automatic route available for foreign equity participation upto 100% for investment in the roads sector
• Private parties allowed to develop service and area along the roads entrusted to them
• The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI)is permitted to participate in equity is Build Own Transfer(BOT) projects upto 30%
• Investors in identified Highway Projects permitted to recover investment by the way of collection of tolls for specified sections and periods
The growth in investment could be studied clearly from the following tables.
Proposals:
National Highway Development Project (NHDP)
The National Highways Development Project (NHDP) – the largest highway project ever undertaken by the country is being implemented by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).The NHDP consists of following components:
NHDP Phase I & II
National Highways Development Project phase I and II comprises four laning of about 14,471 km under Golden Quadrilateral (GQ), North-South and East-West corridor, Port Connectivity and other projects.
Golden Quadrilateral (GQ)
The GQ comprising aggregate length of 5846 km at an estimated cost of Rs.30,300 crore (1999 price) was approved in December, 2000. Most of the works were awarded in 2002. The GQ has now been completed to the extent of 94%.
North-South and East-West (NSEW) Corridors
The NSEW corridors comprise an aggregate length of 7300 km. As on December 2006, four / six laning of 882 km of the NSEW corridors has already been completed and work on 5352 km is under implementation. The work on the remaining length of the NSEW corridors is yet to be awarded. The NSEW corridor is scheduled for completion by December 2008.
Port connectivity and other projects
The ports are an important infrastructure for economic growth of the country.Connectivity of the ports through high quality roads to other centres of economic activities is quite crucial for speedy movements of goods to and from the ports. It was,therefore, decided in December 2000 to develop and upgrade road connectivity to all the 12 major ports in the country namely Kolkata, Haldia, Paradip, Vishakhapatnam,Chennai, Tuticorin, Cochin, Mangalore, Mormugao, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai and Kandla. The project for connecting Kandla port has been completed by
NHAI,which is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and upgrading road connectivity to all these major ports.
As on December 2006, four laning of about 135 km roads of port connectivity and 287 km of other National Highways have been completed. Four laning of about 224 km roads of port connectivity and 638 km of other National Highways is under implementation and the balanced length is to be awarded.
NHDP Phase IIIA
Four laning of 4035 km on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis has been approved at an estimated cost of Rs.22,207 crore under NHDP Phase-IIIA. Seventeen BOT contracts covering 1296 km under NHDP Phase-IIIA have been awarded upto December 2006. NHDP Phase IIIA is proposed to be completed by December 2009.
Road Development:
Nearly 93 per cent works on Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) have been completed by November 2006 and the works are in progress in the remaining length of 345 km.With the completion of about 93 per cent of the GQ, a substantial impact upon the economy is already visible.Also,out of a total length of 7300 km (actual 7200 km )a length of 882 km of North-South East - West corridor has been four laned and 5352 km is under implementation and works for the balance length of 967 km are expected to be completed by December 2009.
PRESENT SCENARIO
PROBLEM DUE TO INFRASTRUCTURE DEFICITS:
“India has underinvested in infrastructure for 60 years, and we're behind what we need by 10 to 12 years," says T.V. Mohandas Pai, director of human resources for Infosys.
India's high-tech services industry has set the country's economic flywheel spinning. Growth is running at 9%-plus this year. The likes of Wal-Mart (WMT ), Vodafone (VOD ), and Citigroup (C ) are placing multibillion-dollar bets on the country, lured by its 300 million-strong middle class. Real estate has shot through the roof, with some prices doubling in the past year.
But this economic boom is being built on the shakiest of foundations. Highways, modern bridges, world-class airports, reliable power, and clean water are in desperately short supply. And what's already there is literally crumbling under the weight of progress. In December,2006 a bridge in eastern India collapsed, killing 34 passengers in a train rumbling underneath. Economic losses from congestion and poor roads alone are as high as $6 billion a year, says Gajendra Haldea, an adviser to the federal Planning Commission.
The infrastructure deficit is so critical that it could prevent India from achieving the prosperity that finally seems to be within its grasp. Jagdish N. Bhagwati, a professor at Columbia University, figures gross domestic product growth would run two percentage points higher if the country had decent roads, railways, and power.
The problems are even contributing to overheating in the economy. Inflation spiked in the third week of July, 2008 to nearly 11.98%, due in part to bottlenecks caused by the country's lousy transport network.
India today is about where China was a decade ago. Back then, China's economy was shifting into overdrive, but its roads and power grid weren't up to the task. So Beijing launched a massive upgrade initiative, building more than 25,000 miles of expressways that now crisscross the country and are as good as the best roads in the U.S. or Europe. India, by contrast, has just around 5000 miles of such highways. It's no wonder that when foreign companies weigh putting new plants in China vs. India to produce global exports, China more often wins out.
China's lead in infrastructure is likely to grow, too. Beijing plows about 9% of its GDP into public works, compared with New Delhi's 4%. And because of its authoritarian government, China gets faster results. "If you have to build a road in China, just a handful of people need to make a decision," says Daniel Vasella, chief executive of pharmaceutical giant Novartis (NVS ). "If you want to build a road in India, it'll take 10 years of discussion before you get a decision."
PROBLEMS FACED BY FOREIGN COMPANIES IN INDIA
Just about every foreign company operating in India has a horror story of the hardships of doing business there. Nokia Corp. (NOK ) saw thousands of its cellular phones ruined in October, 2006 when a shipment from its factory in Chennai was soaked by rain because there was no room to warehouse the crates of handsets at the local airport. Japan's Maruti Suzuki says trucking its cars 900 miles from its factory in Gurgaon to the port in Mumbai can take up to 10 days. That's partly due to delays at the three state borders along the way, where drivers are stalled as officials check their papers. But it's also because big rigs are barred from India's congested cities during the day, when they might bring dense traffic to a standstill. Once at the port, the Japanese company's autos can wait weeks for the next outbound ship because there's not enough dock space for cargo carriers to load and unload.
With virtually no mass transit in Bangalore, Indian technology firm Infosys Technologies Ltd. spends $5 million a year on buses, minivans, and taxis to transport its 18,000 employees to and from Electronics City. And traffic jams mean workers can spend upwards of four hours commuting each day.
India's summer monsoons wreak havoc, too. Even relatively light rains can choke sewers, flood streets, and paralyze a city, while downpours are devastating. Two years ago, Florida-based contract manufacturer Jabil Circuit Inc. saw shipments of computers and networking gear from its plant near Mumbai delayed for five days after an epic storm.
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO ), the American networking equipment giant, has had a research and development office in India since 1999 and already has 2,000 engineers in the country. Although Cisco says the quality of the workmanship is up to snuff, it has to fly parts in because the ports are so slow—and getting them to the factory right when they're needed is proving nettlesome. "We believe in manufacturing in India, but we don't believe in logistics in India—yet," says Wim Elfrink, Cisco's chief globalization officer. Elfrink adds that unless the Chennai operation demonstrates it can run as efficiently as Cisco setups elsewhere, it won't go into full production as planned this summer.
HIGH INCIDENCE OF ACCIDENTS ON INDIAN ROADS
Driving or riding a vehicle in India is by large becoming a dangerous experience. And Indian roads like those of other Asian countries are becoming virtual death traps. The ever increasing and alarming rate of road accidents is a matter of serious concern for all of us. Of the worldwide annual average of 700,000 road accidents, 10 per cent occur in India. The latest annual statistics indicate that over 80,000 people are killed on Indian roads. These figures do not reflect the human suffering and social problems by accidents. Nearly three lakhs per year sustain injuries.
"Human" road-related accidents in India are largely urbocentric. while "commercial" road-related accidents occur predominantly on highways. According to a Central Road Research Institute (CRR1) study, almost 40 per cent of accidents and 48 per cent of deaths occur on national highways. In the urban areas, 75 per cent of road fatalities involve pedestrians (including homeless, roadside sleepers) and bicyclists, almost all of who (most' men below 45 years old) are poor.
A decade's worth of saving the Rs 50,000 million estimated loss in traffic accidents every year could finance building 7,000 km-long, six-lane national highway at today's rates. The figures are always on the increase which corresponds to the tremendous increase in the production and sale of motor vehicles.
INDIAN ROADS are dangerous. The World Road Statistics, 2006, which provided the data for the year 2003 in respect of India, indicated that the number of persons killed per lakh of population in India was 8.08. As per the preliminary tentative data shared by KH Muniyappa, minister of state for shipping, road transport and highways, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, as per the press note released by Press Information Bureau on December 6, 2007, which covers the majority of States and Union Territories, the number of deaths due to road accident is estimated at more than a lakh (1,01,439) during the year 2006, as compared to the figure of 94,968 deaths for the year 2005. This clearly indicates that Indian roads are perilous.
Looking at the data for year 2005, the capital city of India, Delhi, had reported 1,717 deaths on its roads in year 2005, which was highest in India. This issue raises concern on how lives get wasted in India, which can be prevented. It is matter of roads, road safety; emergency services available post accidents on roads, safety standards, condition of vehicles on road, drivers behind wheels, visibility on the road etc.
New Delhi, June 17 (IANS) Over 100,000 people were killed in road accidents in India in 2006 and nearly half a million were injured, according to latest government figures. That means one accident per minute and a fatal one every five minutes.
SUGGESTION
1) To delvelop the infrastructure in India
None of the solutions to India's infrastructure challenges are simple, but business leaders, some enlightened government officials, and even ordinary citizens have started chipping and must continue in order to make things better. The most potent weapon India's reformers have against corruption is transparency.
Last October a new right-to-information law went into effect requiring both central and state governments to divulge information about contracts, hiring, and expenditures to any citizen who requests it. Steps must be taken to strictly enforce this law. The country is also putting to work its vaunted technology prowess to police the government. Officials in 200 districts are using software from Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. to help monitor a government program that offers every rural household a guarantee of 100 days of work per year. Most of this labor goes into public works. To minimize "leakage," the TCS software tracks every expenditure—and makes all of the information available real-time on a Web site accessible to anyone.
A key to getting massive projects off the drawing boards is forming public-private partnerships where the government and companies share costs, risks, and rewards. In 2005, India passed a groundbreaking law permitting officials to tap such partnerships for infrastructure initiatives. This law has to actively enforced.
One of the major concerns and impediments to growth in the infrastructure sectors has to do with effective coordination amongst various implementing agencies. It is important to ensure synergy in the efforts being made to develop different types of infrastructure through effective coordination between different agencies.
Says Pandurangi, who has been associated with several infrastructure projects at state levels: “There has to be better coordination between the Centre, state and various implementing agencies. Its not about policy anymore.” Getting an environmental clearance or right of way for pipeline projects would need coordination between several agencies and government authorities. One of the ways suggested include high level coordination committees including stakeholders from various ministries and states to facilitate smoother implementation.
While public spending has to continue in a large way in rural and remote areas, private partners should be co-opted in the urban networks. One crucial area that needs to be in place is to do with regulators.
To reduce accidents on Indian roads
So, why do accidents happen? 80% of road accidents are caused human error say senior police officials, according to a news report in the TOI today.
Well, we all know how easy it is to get a driving license in India. Also punishment for errant drivers is light. A bribe is all that needs to be given and the rash drivers are free to go. Indians are known for their high degree of patience, but do we have to be patient where rash driving is concerned? No. Some drastic action needs to be taken.
The Institute of Health Systems has a few solutions:
1) Be more stringent in issuing licenses.
2) Think of ways to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads.
3) Be strict about usage of helmets.
4) Make separate lanes for heavy vehicles.
5) Study how these issues are tackled in advanced countries.
The World Bank has some suggestions as well:
1) Increase awareness about road safety among road users, planners and engineers. In fact, the World Bank sees public awareness campaigns as a vital part of its efforts to improve road safety. They had designed one such project for the National Highway Authority of India.
2) Introduction of Road safety audits.
3) Speed controlling measures such as speed bumps, rumble strips, road markings, traffic signs, and roundabouts
4) Building of separate non-motorized traffic and motorcycle lanes to ensure the smooth flow of traffic.
After brainstorming, our team came up with a few suggestions as well :-
TRAFFIC RULES should be MADE STRICT.
CAMERAS must be employed at traffic signals to ensure compliance.
Speed limits must be imposed.
TICKETS must be issued for
(i) breaking traffic rules, instead on collecting fines on the spot. Thus requiring them to appear before court (like in the US) and hence reducing bribery.
(ii) FOR DRUNKEN DRIVING.
(iii)FOR DRIVING ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD
HELMET RULES must be enforced strictly in all the states.
1. Providing and enabling a legal, institutional and financial environment for road safety
2. Creation of a road safety information database
3. Safer road infrastructure (application of ITS to achieve safe and efficient transport system will be encouraged)
4. Safer vehicles (ensuring safety aspects are built in at the stage of design, manufacture, usage, operation and maintenance of vehicles in line with prevailing international standards)
5. Safer drivers
6. Safety for vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists and two-wheel riders)
7. Road traffic safety education and training
8. Traffic enforcement
9. Emergency medical services for road accidents (provision of rescue operation and administration of first aid at the site of an accident, transport of the victim from accident site to hospital)
10. HRD & research for road safety (facilitate dissemination of the research results and identify examples of good practice through publication, training, conferences, workshops and websites).
Transport is an essential means for enhancing economic and social development. It is indispensable for the efficient development and functioning of most social and economic sectors and for linking together any society. In a development context, a well functioning transport network contributes towards reduced economic costs, as a result of savings in transport costs; it also contributes towards timely delivery of inputs to production processes; and more generally, it opens up possibilities for efficient utilization of economic and human resources. A functioning transport network increases the mobility of the labour force, provides easier access to higher education facilities, as well as better all round communication in a society. In summary, a well functioning transport system contributes closely to measures of economic growth in the country.
Logistics in India is poised for a significant leap forward in the coming years. The Logistics Industry size has touched the level of $ 90 billion and is expected to reach $ 110 billion by 2010. Container traffic is estimated to reach 960 million tonnes by 2013-14.
Passenger traffic has increased due to large urban population, inadequate public transport, diffused institutional arrangements and as Cities show vertices of continued growth.
Roads carry about 70% of the freight and 85% of passenger traffic. With focus on the improvement of roads and planned investment, the sector is expected to grow at 10% by 2010. National Highways constitute only about 2% of the road network but carry about 40% of the total road traffic . Number of vehicles has been growing at an average pace of 10.16% per annum over the last five years. Therefore, the economic development of the country, consequent surge in the demand for transport services and the strategic needs of the country necessitated expansion as well as improvement of the road network. The country has to take up this uphill task in a planned manner.
ROAD TRANSPORT IN INDIA
TYPES OF ROADWAYS: The total road length in India has increased significantly from 0.399 million kms as of March 31, 1951 to 3.38 million kms as of March 31, 2004 making Indian road network one of the largest road networks in the world. The surfaced road lengths have also increased from 0.157 million kms to around 1.604 million kms in the same period. Surface length constitutes 47.3% of total road length as of March 31, 2004, up from a level of 39.3% of the total road length as of March 31, 1951.
The entire network is classified into five distinct categories perhaps from the viewpoint of management and administration. The five categories are:
- National Highways (NH)
- State Highways (SH)
- Major District Roads (MDR)
- Other District Roads (ODR)
- Village Roads (VR)
Among the different categories of roads, National Highways constitute around 2%, State Highways 4% while 94 per cent of the entire network comprises ODR, MDR and VR. Out of these, PWD Roads are 21%, Urban Roads 7% and the rest of the road length in India is accounted for by the rural roads. While development and maintenance of National Highways is under the purview of the Centre, all other categories of roads come under the purview of the respective States/ UT Governments.
The National Highways (NHs) have a length of 65,569 km and run across the length and breadth of India facilitating medium and long distance inter- city passenger & freight traffic. Though they comprise only about 2 per cent of the road network, they carry about 40 per cent of the road based traffic.
State Highways (SHs) and Major District Roads (MDRs) constitute the secondary system of road infrastructure of India. The State Highways provide linkages with the National Highways, district headquarters, important towns, tourist centres and minor ports and carry the traffic along major centres within the State. Their total length is about 137,711 km. Major District Roads run within the district, connecting areas of production with markets, rural areas to the district headquarters and to State Highways/ National Highways.
By acting as the link between the rural and urban areas, the State Highways and Major District Roads contribute significantly to the development of the rural economy and industrial growth of India. It is assessed that the secondary system caries about 40 per cent of the total road traffic and comprises about 20% of the total road length.
The last link in the chain is rural roads. The access to villages within a district or between different districts is provided by Other District Roads (ODRs) and Village Roads (VRs). These roads also meet the social needs of the villagers and are also a means for transportation of agriculture produce from the villages to nearby markets. Rural connectivity is a key component of rural development and contributes significantly to generating higher agricultural incomes and productive employment opportunities besides promoting access to economic and social services. Studies show that rural roads have a significant impact on poverty reduction as well.
Indian road network of 33 lakh Km.is second largest in the world and consists of :
Length(In Km)
Expressways 200
National Highways 66,590
State Highways 1,31,899
Major District Roads 4,67,763
Rural and Other Roads 26,50,000
Total Length 33 Lakhs Kms(Approx)
NATIONAL HIGHWAYS:
OBJECTIVE:
1. To determine the existing inadequacies in Indian roadways and deficits in infrastructure development.
2. To define the problems which arise as a result of such infrastructure deficits.
3. To suggest specific brain-stormed solutions to such problems.
GROWTH TRENDS
With over 1 billion population and 3.319m km
of road network, India’s road transport system
is the second largest in the world after the US.
Total vehicle fleet has grown from meager 0.3m
in 1951 to be estimated 28.45m in 2007
(Excluding 54.5m motorized two-wheelers).
There has been a rapid increase in the number
of goods vehicle in India from 82,000 in 1951
to estimated 4.68m in 2007.
Thus, it plays a significant role in overall
economic development of the country.
Currently, India’s road logistic system handles
over 900 billion tonnes-km of freight per annum. However, the supply of roadways and
highways, in terms of capacity and quality, has not gone up at the pace demanded by the road transport system.
National Highways: The National Highways running across the length and breadth of the country connect all state capitals, major ports, international boundaries, areas of economic and strategic importance, etc. The present total length of NHs is about 66,674 km. An overwhelming proportion of the total length of NHs is two or single laned (56% and 32 % of the total length of national highways are double/intermediate lane and single lane respectively) and only 12 per cent of the length of the NHs are four lane and more. The NHs constitutes less than 2 per cent of the road length of the country but carry about 40 % of the road based traffic.
In order to expand and improve road connectivity in the country, the Government has launched National Highways Development Project (NHDP). It is the largest highway project ever undertaken in the country. The NHDP is being implemented by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Government has envisaged investment of Rs.2,35,430 crore for upgradation of National Highways under various phases of NHDP over the medium term.
State Highways and Major District Roads: State Highways and Major District Roads constitute the secondary system of road transportation in the country. The State Highways provide linkages with the National Highways, district headquarters, important towns, tourist centres and minor ports.
funds from the Central Road Fund are provided for improvement of State Roads other than rural roads. At present, the annual amount available from this source is about Rs. 1560 crore.
Inter State Connectivity: To promote inter-state facilities and also to assist the State Governments in their economic development through construction of roads and bridges of Inter-state and economic importance, Central Government provides 100% grant for inter-state connectivity projects and 50% grant for projects of economic importance.
Rural roads: Rural roads connect villages giving access to rural population to the National Highways through Major District Roads and State Highways. Around 59 per cent of the total road length is accounted by rural roads largely built under Jawahar Rojgar Yojna. These roads are of limited value from the point of view of movement of heavy traffic.
Roads are also being developed in rural areas under the Pradahn Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). The objective of PMGSY is to link all villages with a population of more than 500 people with all-weather roads by the year 2007. This is being implemented by Ministry of Rural Development
Growth in Human Resource Requirements & Training
The total manpower requirement for the public passenger and freight road transport sector is estimated to grow from 17.9 million in 2007 to 24.7 million in 2012. It is noteworthy that more than three-fifth of the manpower requirement consists of drivers, of which almost four-fifth need to be absorbed in Goods Vehicles category. This clearly makes driver the most vital manpower resource in the road transport sector. The quality of drivers has a vital bearing on quality and productivity of transport service specially, with respect to road safety, fuel economy, and efficiency of the sector.
Growth in Road Accidents
The total number of accidents reported by all the States/ Union Territories (UTs) in the last year were 4, 39, 255 of which 83,491 or 19% of total accidents were fatal; the number of persons killed in the accidents were 94,968 (i.e. an average of one fatality per 4.6 accidents) and; the number of persons injured at 4, 65,282 exceeded total number of accidents (4, 39,255) in last year. The proportion of fatal accidents in the total accidents has increased since 2001. The severity of road accidents measured in terms of persons killed per 100 accidents has also increased from less than 20 in 2001 to more than 22 in current years.
Road Accidents in India, 1970-2005
(Data Relates to Calendar Year) ( In thousands)
Year Road Accidents Persons Killed Persons Injured
1 2 3 4
1970 114.1 14.5 70.1
1971 120.2 15.0 70.7
1972 122.3 16.1 76.4
1973 121.6 17.6 79.3
1974 114.3 17.3 76.7
1975 116.8 16.9 77.0
1976 124.7 17.8 82.5
1977 135.4 20.1 95.6
1978 146.3 21.8 99.5
1979 144.4 22.6 102.9
1980 153.2 24.6 109.1
1981 161.2 28.4 114.0
1982 166.2 30.7 126.0
1983 177.0 32.8 134.1
1984 195.0 35.1 156.2
1985 207.0 39.2 163.4
1986 215.5 40.0 176.4
1987 234.0 44.4 189.0
1988 246.7 46.6 214.8
1989 270.0 50.7 229.7
1990 282.6 54.1 244.1
1991 293.4 56.4 255.0
1992 260.3 57.2 267.2
1993 280.1 60.7 287.8
1994 320.4 64.0 311.5
1995 348.9 70.6 323.2
1996 371.2 74.6 369.5
1997 373.7 77.0 378.4
1998 385.0 79.9 390.7
1999 386.4 82.0 375.0
2000 391.4 78.9 399.3
2001 405.6 80.9 405.2
2002 407.5 84.7 408.7
2003 406.7 86.0 435.1
2004 429.9 92.6 464.5
2005 439.2 94.9 465.2
From the table, it is obvious that the accident rate is increasing year after year in Indian roadways
Growth in vehicles :
Motor vehicle population has recorded significant growth over the years. India had 79.7 million registered motor vehicles at the end of last fiscal year. The growth of vehicular traffic on roads has been far greater than the growth of the highways; as a result the main arteries face capacity saturation. Between 1951 and 2007 the vehicle population grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of close to 11 per cent. Personalized mode (constituting mainly two wheelers and cars) account for more than four-fifth of the motor vehicles in the country compared to their share of little over three-fifth in 1951. Further break up of motor vehicle population reflects preponderance of two-wheelers with a share of more than 71 per cent in total vehicle population, followed by cars with 13 per cent and other vehicles (a heterogeneous category which includes 3 wheelers, trailers, tractors etc.) with 9.4 per cent.
The growth in vehicles till this year and their projected growth in future are described in the following graphs, with their inferences
Rise in income and growth in vehicles ownership
Projection of motor vehicles on road and vehicle mix (thousand vehicles)
Inference:
From 60 million vehicles in 2005
537 million in 2030 (9% annual growth)
671 million in 2030 (10% annual growth
Investment Policy :
There is growth in Government initiatives for promotion of this key infrastructural sector includes
• Automatic route available for foreign equity participation upto 100% for investment in the roads sector
• Private parties allowed to develop service and area along the roads entrusted to them
• The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI)is permitted to participate in equity is Build Own Transfer(BOT) projects upto 30%
• Investors in identified Highway Projects permitted to recover investment by the way of collection of tolls for specified sections and periods
The growth in investment could be studied clearly from the following tables.
Proposals:
National Highway Development Project (NHDP)
The National Highways Development Project (NHDP) – the largest highway project ever undertaken by the country is being implemented by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).The NHDP consists of following components:
NHDP Phase I & II
National Highways Development Project phase I and II comprises four laning of about 14,471 km under Golden Quadrilateral (GQ), North-South and East-West corridor, Port Connectivity and other projects.
Golden Quadrilateral (GQ)
The GQ comprising aggregate length of 5846 km at an estimated cost of Rs.30,300 crore (1999 price) was approved in December, 2000. Most of the works were awarded in 2002. The GQ has now been completed to the extent of 94%.
North-South and East-West (NSEW) Corridors
The NSEW corridors comprise an aggregate length of 7300 km. As on December 2006, four / six laning of 882 km of the NSEW corridors has already been completed and work on 5352 km is under implementation. The work on the remaining length of the NSEW corridors is yet to be awarded. The NSEW corridor is scheduled for completion by December 2008.
Port connectivity and other projects
The ports are an important infrastructure for economic growth of the country.Connectivity of the ports through high quality roads to other centres of economic activities is quite crucial for speedy movements of goods to and from the ports. It was,therefore, decided in December 2000 to develop and upgrade road connectivity to all the 12 major ports in the country namely Kolkata, Haldia, Paradip, Vishakhapatnam,Chennai, Tuticorin, Cochin, Mangalore, Mormugao, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai and Kandla. The project for connecting Kandla port has been completed by
NHAI,which is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and upgrading road connectivity to all these major ports.
As on December 2006, four laning of about 135 km roads of port connectivity and 287 km of other National Highways have been completed. Four laning of about 224 km roads of port connectivity and 638 km of other National Highways is under implementation and the balanced length is to be awarded.
NHDP Phase IIIA
Four laning of 4035 km on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis has been approved at an estimated cost of Rs.22,207 crore under NHDP Phase-IIIA. Seventeen BOT contracts covering 1296 km under NHDP Phase-IIIA have been awarded upto December 2006. NHDP Phase IIIA is proposed to be completed by December 2009.
Road Development:
Nearly 93 per cent works on Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) have been completed by November 2006 and the works are in progress in the remaining length of 345 km.With the completion of about 93 per cent of the GQ, a substantial impact upon the economy is already visible.Also,out of a total length of 7300 km (actual 7200 km )a length of 882 km of North-South East - West corridor has been four laned and 5352 km is under implementation and works for the balance length of 967 km are expected to be completed by December 2009.
PRESENT SCENARIO
PROBLEM DUE TO INFRASTRUCTURE DEFICITS:
“India has underinvested in infrastructure for 60 years, and we're behind what we need by 10 to 12 years," says T.V. Mohandas Pai, director of human resources for Infosys.
India's high-tech services industry has set the country's economic flywheel spinning. Growth is running at 9%-plus this year. The likes of Wal-Mart (WMT ), Vodafone (VOD ), and Citigroup (C ) are placing multibillion-dollar bets on the country, lured by its 300 million-strong middle class. Real estate has shot through the roof, with some prices doubling in the past year.
But this economic boom is being built on the shakiest of foundations. Highways, modern bridges, world-class airports, reliable power, and clean water are in desperately short supply. And what's already there is literally crumbling under the weight of progress. In December,2006 a bridge in eastern India collapsed, killing 34 passengers in a train rumbling underneath. Economic losses from congestion and poor roads alone are as high as $6 billion a year, says Gajendra Haldea, an adviser to the federal Planning Commission.
The infrastructure deficit is so critical that it could prevent India from achieving the prosperity that finally seems to be within its grasp. Jagdish N. Bhagwati, a professor at Columbia University, figures gross domestic product growth would run two percentage points higher if the country had decent roads, railways, and power.
The problems are even contributing to overheating in the economy. Inflation spiked in the third week of July, 2008 to nearly 11.98%, due in part to bottlenecks caused by the country's lousy transport network.
India today is about where China was a decade ago. Back then, China's economy was shifting into overdrive, but its roads and power grid weren't up to the task. So Beijing launched a massive upgrade initiative, building more than 25,000 miles of expressways that now crisscross the country and are as good as the best roads in the U.S. or Europe. India, by contrast, has just around 5000 miles of such highways. It's no wonder that when foreign companies weigh putting new plants in China vs. India to produce global exports, China more often wins out.
China's lead in infrastructure is likely to grow, too. Beijing plows about 9% of its GDP into public works, compared with New Delhi's 4%. And because of its authoritarian government, China gets faster results. "If you have to build a road in China, just a handful of people need to make a decision," says Daniel Vasella, chief executive of pharmaceutical giant Novartis (NVS ). "If you want to build a road in India, it'll take 10 years of discussion before you get a decision."
PROBLEMS FACED BY FOREIGN COMPANIES IN INDIA
Just about every foreign company operating in India has a horror story of the hardships of doing business there. Nokia Corp. (NOK ) saw thousands of its cellular phones ruined in October, 2006 when a shipment from its factory in Chennai was soaked by rain because there was no room to warehouse the crates of handsets at the local airport. Japan's Maruti Suzuki says trucking its cars 900 miles from its factory in Gurgaon to the port in Mumbai can take up to 10 days. That's partly due to delays at the three state borders along the way, where drivers are stalled as officials check their papers. But it's also because big rigs are barred from India's congested cities during the day, when they might bring dense traffic to a standstill. Once at the port, the Japanese company's autos can wait weeks for the next outbound ship because there's not enough dock space for cargo carriers to load and unload.
With virtually no mass transit in Bangalore, Indian technology firm Infosys Technologies Ltd. spends $5 million a year on buses, minivans, and taxis to transport its 18,000 employees to and from Electronics City. And traffic jams mean workers can spend upwards of four hours commuting each day.
India's summer monsoons wreak havoc, too. Even relatively light rains can choke sewers, flood streets, and paralyze a city, while downpours are devastating. Two years ago, Florida-based contract manufacturer Jabil Circuit Inc. saw shipments of computers and networking gear from its plant near Mumbai delayed for five days after an epic storm.
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO ), the American networking equipment giant, has had a research and development office in India since 1999 and already has 2,000 engineers in the country. Although Cisco says the quality of the workmanship is up to snuff, it has to fly parts in because the ports are so slow—and getting them to the factory right when they're needed is proving nettlesome. "We believe in manufacturing in India, but we don't believe in logistics in India—yet," says Wim Elfrink, Cisco's chief globalization officer. Elfrink adds that unless the Chennai operation demonstrates it can run as efficiently as Cisco setups elsewhere, it won't go into full production as planned this summer.
HIGH INCIDENCE OF ACCIDENTS ON INDIAN ROADS
Driving or riding a vehicle in India is by large becoming a dangerous experience. And Indian roads like those of other Asian countries are becoming virtual death traps. The ever increasing and alarming rate of road accidents is a matter of serious concern for all of us. Of the worldwide annual average of 700,000 road accidents, 10 per cent occur in India. The latest annual statistics indicate that over 80,000 people are killed on Indian roads. These figures do not reflect the human suffering and social problems by accidents. Nearly three lakhs per year sustain injuries.
"Human" road-related accidents in India are largely urbocentric. while "commercial" road-related accidents occur predominantly on highways. According to a Central Road Research Institute (CRR1) study, almost 40 per cent of accidents and 48 per cent of deaths occur on national highways. In the urban areas, 75 per cent of road fatalities involve pedestrians (including homeless, roadside sleepers) and bicyclists, almost all of who (most' men below 45 years old) are poor.
A decade's worth of saving the Rs 50,000 million estimated loss in traffic accidents every year could finance building 7,000 km-long, six-lane national highway at today's rates. The figures are always on the increase which corresponds to the tremendous increase in the production and sale of motor vehicles.
INDIAN ROADS are dangerous. The World Road Statistics, 2006, which provided the data for the year 2003 in respect of India, indicated that the number of persons killed per lakh of population in India was 8.08. As per the preliminary tentative data shared by KH Muniyappa, minister of state for shipping, road transport and highways, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, as per the press note released by Press Information Bureau on December 6, 2007, which covers the majority of States and Union Territories, the number of deaths due to road accident is estimated at more than a lakh (1,01,439) during the year 2006, as compared to the figure of 94,968 deaths for the year 2005. This clearly indicates that Indian roads are perilous.
Looking at the data for year 2005, the capital city of India, Delhi, had reported 1,717 deaths on its roads in year 2005, which was highest in India. This issue raises concern on how lives get wasted in India, which can be prevented. It is matter of roads, road safety; emergency services available post accidents on roads, safety standards, condition of vehicles on road, drivers behind wheels, visibility on the road etc.
New Delhi, June 17 (IANS) Over 100,000 people were killed in road accidents in India in 2006 and nearly half a million were injured, according to latest government figures. That means one accident per minute and a fatal one every five minutes.
SUGGESTION
1) To delvelop the infrastructure in India
None of the solutions to India's infrastructure challenges are simple, but business leaders, some enlightened government officials, and even ordinary citizens have started chipping and must continue in order to make things better. The most potent weapon India's reformers have against corruption is transparency.
Last October a new right-to-information law went into effect requiring both central and state governments to divulge information about contracts, hiring, and expenditures to any citizen who requests it. Steps must be taken to strictly enforce this law. The country is also putting to work its vaunted technology prowess to police the government. Officials in 200 districts are using software from Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. to help monitor a government program that offers every rural household a guarantee of 100 days of work per year. Most of this labor goes into public works. To minimize "leakage," the TCS software tracks every expenditure—and makes all of the information available real-time on a Web site accessible to anyone.
A key to getting massive projects off the drawing boards is forming public-private partnerships where the government and companies share costs, risks, and rewards. In 2005, India passed a groundbreaking law permitting officials to tap such partnerships for infrastructure initiatives. This law has to actively enforced.
One of the major concerns and impediments to growth in the infrastructure sectors has to do with effective coordination amongst various implementing agencies. It is important to ensure synergy in the efforts being made to develop different types of infrastructure through effective coordination between different agencies.
Says Pandurangi, who has been associated with several infrastructure projects at state levels: “There has to be better coordination between the Centre, state and various implementing agencies. Its not about policy anymore.” Getting an environmental clearance or right of way for pipeline projects would need coordination between several agencies and government authorities. One of the ways suggested include high level coordination committees including stakeholders from various ministries and states to facilitate smoother implementation.
While public spending has to continue in a large way in rural and remote areas, private partners should be co-opted in the urban networks. One crucial area that needs to be in place is to do with regulators.
To reduce accidents on Indian roads
So, why do accidents happen? 80% of road accidents are caused human error say senior police officials, according to a news report in the TOI today.
Well, we all know how easy it is to get a driving license in India. Also punishment for errant drivers is light. A bribe is all that needs to be given and the rash drivers are free to go. Indians are known for their high degree of patience, but do we have to be patient where rash driving is concerned? No. Some drastic action needs to be taken.
The Institute of Health Systems has a few solutions:
1) Be more stringent in issuing licenses.
2) Think of ways to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads.
3) Be strict about usage of helmets.
4) Make separate lanes for heavy vehicles.
5) Study how these issues are tackled in advanced countries.
The World Bank has some suggestions as well:
1) Increase awareness about road safety among road users, planners and engineers. In fact, the World Bank sees public awareness campaigns as a vital part of its efforts to improve road safety. They had designed one such project for the National Highway Authority of India.
2) Introduction of Road safety audits.
3) Speed controlling measures such as speed bumps, rumble strips, road markings, traffic signs, and roundabouts
4) Building of separate non-motorized traffic and motorcycle lanes to ensure the smooth flow of traffic.
After brainstorming, our team came up with a few suggestions as well :-
TRAFFIC RULES should be MADE STRICT.
CAMERAS must be employed at traffic signals to ensure compliance.
Speed limits must be imposed.
TICKETS must be issued for
(i) breaking traffic rules, instead on collecting fines on the spot. Thus requiring them to appear before court (like in the US) and hence reducing bribery.
(ii) FOR DRUNKEN DRIVING.
(iii)FOR DRIVING ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD
HELMET RULES must be enforced strictly in all the states.
1. Providing and enabling a legal, institutional and financial environment for road safety
2. Creation of a road safety information database
3. Safer road infrastructure (application of ITS to achieve safe and efficient transport system will be encouraged)
4. Safer vehicles (ensuring safety aspects are built in at the stage of design, manufacture, usage, operation and maintenance of vehicles in line with prevailing international standards)
5. Safer drivers
6. Safety for vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists and two-wheel riders)
7. Road traffic safety education and training
8. Traffic enforcement
9. Emergency medical services for road accidents (provision of rescue operation and administration of first aid at the site of an accident, transport of the victim from accident site to hospital)
10. HRD & research for road safety (facilitate dissemination of the research results and identify examples of good practice through publication, training, conferences, workshops and websites).
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