'Electronic toll system can help save Rs 86K crore annually'

The country is expected to save at least Rs 86,000 crore annually after electronic toll collection (ETC) system becomes operational pan-India by December, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari today said.
"We would save Rs 86,000 crore annually with installation of electronic toll collection system as an IIM Kolkata study has indicated that delays at plazas result in fuel loss worth Rs 60,000 crore besides losses worth Rs 26,000 crore to truckers," Gadkari said here while addressing Millennium Alliance Awards ceremony organised jointly by Ficci and other bodies.
ETC systems have already been installed at 123 plazas while by December-end it would be functional across 350 toll plazas, he said.

At present, the average waiting time for vehicles is 10 minutes at every toll plaza, which would be eliminated after ETC, being facilitated by ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.
After giving awards to winners for innovations in education, rural health, sanitation etc, the Minister said innovation and entrepreneurship could together change the face of India, leading to its economic growth.
"Waste could be converted into wealth", said Gadkari, adding that only if the garbage, including rotten vegetables at Azadpur market could be converted into bio-gas, there would be sufficient fuel for 1,000 buses to run on Delhi roads.

We will try running hovercrafts on Yamuna for facilitating faster transportation, he said, asking industrial houses to come forward for innovation, besides helping entrepreneurship at rural levels.

"Lack of vision for progress and development is hampering country's growth", he added.
During the award ceremony organised by Ficci, Technology Development Board, USAID, DFID, ICCO, ICICI Foundation and WISH, twenty innovators were awarded a total funding of about Rs 20 crore under the focus sectors of basic education, affordable healthcare, agriculture/food security, clean energy and water and sanitation.