Gadkari chairs meeting of states' transport ministers to discuss concurrent policy matters

New Delhi [India], April 17 : Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari on Monday chaired a meeting of transport ministers of all states and Union Territories in New Delhi.

The meeting with the transport ministers threw up a variety of concurrent policy matters including review of road traffic regulations, setting up of vehicle fitness stations, financing e-buses, and streamlining the issuance of driving licenses, according to the minister's tweets.

The minister on Monday said, "With mutual consultation and cooperation with the ministers of states and UTs a range of innovative solutions were discussed, further strengthening the federal character of Bharat."

Secretary for road transport and highways, senior officers from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and principal secretary/secretary for transport and transport commissioners from the states and UTs attended the meeting.

According to a statement released by the ministry on Monday, it said it has taken several measures with a view to develop future-ready road transport in India, with safety and sustainability being the key driver of all such measures.

It said Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernization Program (V-VMP) has been launched to promote the reusability of resources by extracting valuable raw materials from scrapped vehicles, thereby promoting circular economy. Extensive work is being undertaken to promote renewable energy and decarbonisation including incentives for electric vehicles, adoption of alternate fuels like hydrogen, ethanol blends, bio CNG etc., development of green highways, etc.

The statement also added that several initiatives have been taken for Road Safety such as road safety audit and remedial/ corrective measures.