Latest news with #VUmashankar
Time of India
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Telangana car owners may not benefit from Centre's annual toll pass scheme
Private car owners in Telangana won't be able to avail the Annual Toll Pass scheme for National Highways (NHs) and expressways to be launched by the Centre on Aug 15, as vehicles registered in the state have not yet been migrated to the Vahan database (central registry of vehicles). The annual pass, to be issued from next week, requires real-time validation of vehicle class through the Vahan portal. Union transport secretary V Umashankar, in a letter addressed to Telangana chief secretary last week, sought the "personal intervention" of the top state official to expedite the migration of the state's vehicle data to Vahan portal and ensure "equitable access to the nationwide facility for road users". Umashankar highlighted how the Centre had reached out to the state govt in May this year for merger of state registers for driving licence (DL) and registration certificate (RC) of vehicles with the national registers -Sarathi and Vahan - but the same has not happened yet. Except Telangana, all other states have come on board, officials said. They expect the state to act quickly, as the issue is crucial for dealing with DL and RC related matters at the national level. Umashankar has said that only vehicles registered as "non-commercial car/ jeep/ van" are eligible to get the FASTag-based pass by paying ₹3,000, granting them 200 toll-free crossings on NHs in a year. Sources said the National Highways Authority of India is in the process of finalising the scheme and placing all infrastructure in place for starting the registration process. A special team has been trained to handle queries relating to the scheme at their call centre.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
To drive sale of EVs, government to clarify they are exempt from 15-year 'end of life' norm
. NEW DELHI: In a bid to increase the penetration of electric buses, cars and trucks, and to spur their sales, government is likely to clarify soon that the 15-year 'End of Life' (EoL) regulation isn't applicable to EVs. The power ministry will also expedite extending the CAFE norms (regulations designed to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions) to urban freight vehicles, trucks and buses. These were among the steps finalised at a recent high-level meeting chaired by Niti Aayog member Rajiv Gauba amid concerns over the slow progress of EV penetration in the country, which was barely 7.6% in 2024, as against the target of 30% by 2030. While EV penetration is higher for two- and three-wheelers and buses, it has been slow for four-wheelers, with e-trucks not having taken off so far. Sources said that responding to an observation from road transport secretary V Umashankar that most over 15-year-old buses are privately owned, Niti Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam suggested that if the 15-year EOL regulation is not applied to EVs, it may spur sales. Umashankar also held that a mandate for EV adoption works best at places where a certain level of penetration and ecosystem are in place. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like When the Camera Clicked at the Worst Possible Time Read More Undo Sources said there was a consensus to move from incentives to mandates and disincentives for faster EV adoption and for strategies to have saturation in five cities for buses, para-transit and urban freight vehicles. A source said there was unanimous agreement on the need for fast expansion of charging infrastructure, deployment of fast chargers, development of new battery technologies to reduce import dependence and easier finance for e-buses and e-trucks. Days later, the finance ministry held talks with banks to address their reluctance to finance EVs and the issue of higher interest rates. At the meeting chaired by financial services secretary M Nagaraju, banks urged govt to standardise batteries, bring down vehicle costs and announce some incentive for purchase of new batteries, considering that batteries usually have to be replaced in 6-7 years and account for 40-50% of the cost of EVs.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Telangana car owners may not benefit from Centre's Annual Toll Pass scheme
File photo NEW DELHI: Private car owners in Telangana won't be able to avail the Annual Toll Pass scheme for National Highways (NHs) and expressways to be launched by the Centre on Aug 15, as vehicles registered in the state have not yet been migrated to the Vahan database (central registry of vehicles). The annual pass, to be issued from next week, requires real-time validation of vehicle class through the Vahan portal. Union transport secretary V Umashankar, in a letter addressed to Telangana chief secretary last week, sought the 'personal intervention' of the top state official to expedite the migration of the state's vehicle data to Vahan portal and ensure 'equitable access to the nationwide facility for road users'. In his letter, Umashankar highlighted how the Centre had reached out to the state govt in May this year for merger of state registers for driving licence (DL) and registration certificate (RC) of vehicles with the national registers —Sarathi and Vahan -- but the same has not happened yet. Except Telangana, all other states have come on board, officials said. They expect the state to act quickly, as the issue is crucial for dealing with DL and RC related matters at the national level. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Learn More - How Donating Plasma May Boost Your Income SpellRock Undo Umashankar has said that only vehicles registered as 'non-commercial car/ jeep/ van' are eligible to get the FASTag-based pass by paying Rs 3,000, granting them 200 toll-free crossings on NHs in a year. Sources said the National Highways Authority of India is giving finishing touches to the scheme and putting all infrastructure in place for starting the registration process. A special team has been trained to handle queries relating to the scheme at their call centre.
New Indian Express
28-07-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Centre asks Odisha to ensure cashless treatment of road accident victims
BHUBANESWAR: The Centre has directed the Odisha government to immediately implement the cashless treatment of road accident victims scheme-2025 in letter and spirit without any further delay. Even as more than two months have passed since the scheme was notified, several states, including Odisha, are yet to begin the process to implement it. The new scheme entitles every road accident victim to receive treatment up to Rs 1.5 lakh for a maximum of seven days from the date of accident without any upfront payment. The states can use the existing technological platforms, including the electronic detailed accident report (eDAR) of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and Transaction Management System (TMS) of the National Health Authority (NHA) to enable seamless coordination between hospitals and police for implementation of the scheme. At a recent review meeting chaired by Union Road Transport and Highways Secretary V Umashankar, it was found that though Odisha has already migrated to TMS 2.0, there is no information about the designated agency, point of contact and other details essential for implementing the cashless treatment scheme. The MoRTH has asked the state government to submit details of the designated nodal agency, point of contact, confirmation of active TMS login by district collectors, details of all collectors for opening of accounts and grievance redressal officer from district road safety committee within 10 days. The Centre has clarified that while the cashless scheme leverages the Ayushman Bharat platform, it is a statutory scheme under law and is not a benefit scheme. Therefore, the cashless scheme will be applicable to all individuals irrespective of income criteria and it is different from the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
Time of India
27-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Soon FASTag may be used to buy insurance, pay challans
You may soon be able to use your vehicle's FASTag to pay traffic challans , parking fee, insurance premium and for EV charging , in addition to highway tolls . With nearly 11 crore FASTags issued by banks, the govt is exploring ways to expand its use as a flexible payment tool. To take this forward and firm up the next phase of FASTag growth, the road transport and highways ministry and the NHAI on Wednesday held a brainstorming workshop with top officials from the finance ministry and fintech firms. Road transport minister Nitin Gadkari said through collaboration with fintechs and other stakeholders, the govt aims at expanding the utility of FASTag into a robust platform that will 'enhance user convenience, streamline transport and mobility services'. Sources said road transport secretary V Umashankar said while FASTag has largely introduced manless tolling and eliminate barriers this can be used for other purposes linked to vehicles, such as paying for fuel, insurance premium and traffic challan, as the govt has enforced the 'one vehicle, one tag' rule. On the prospect of allowing insurance companies to issue FASTag to increase coverage of insured vehicles from 50% to 75%-90% in three years, the secretary said this is possible but there is a need to cleaning the 'Vahan' database, which has around 7.5 crore inactive vehicles.
