Govt unveils IT-based solution for transport sector

Hopes to curb road accidents, traffic congestion and long queues at toll plazas

The IT taskforce under the Union Ministry of Road, Transport, Highways and Shipping today unveiled an on vehicle smart module (OVSM) solution to effectively curb road accidents, traffic congestion, and theft and unauthorized use of vehicles. This apart, OVSM is expected to drastically reduce long queues at the toll plaza and it can be used in automated parking management especially in case of open road parking vehicles.

At the ITForParivartan summit here, the union railway minister Suresh Prabhu, who released the OVSM solution, said the implementation of effective technological solutions can unlock the true potential of India's transport and logistics sector. He informed that his ministry has has started a special fund of Rs 50 crore to support IT companies coming up with innovative solutions for Railways. ''We are looking for solutions in critical areas such as customer interface and also IT security. Cyber security is of utmost importance to us," he said.

IT task force member Vinit Goenka said OVSM based system is step towards digitization of road transportation, changing cities in to Smart Cities. Underlining the OVSM's importance,he said, "India loses Rs 60,000 crore annually due to traffic congestion, (including fuel wastage), slow speed of freight vehicles and waiting time at toll plazas and checking points. India can ill-afford this staggering wastage of time, money and resources. There is a growing necessity for planned infrastructure and effective enforcement to ensure sustained growth of the nation and counter the challenges of increased vehicle population, emissions, accidents and urbanization."

According to Goenka, the implementation of OVSM will benefit both the users and the enforcement authorities due to transparency in penalty collection, better traffic monitoring and accurate data collection which in turn will help improve transportation and road safety.

On the lines of PM's Jan Dhan Yojana, the OVSM user account will be linked to user's bank account to perform the required transactions and it will also be lined to the user's license, RTO records and other related interface agencies to track and maintain the records of his traffic, rule violation, validity and expiry of documents and overall driving performance.