One-nation-one-card for public transport soon: NITI Aayog

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said a robust transportation sector was the backbone for the development of any economy, especially for a densely populated developing country like India, and the focus of the nation's mobility strategy was on sustainable modes of public transport, transport-oriented planning and digitisation.

(IMAGE: PTI)

New Delhi: India will shortly unveil a one-nation-one-card policy for public transport that will bring seamless connectivity between various modes of transport, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Monday. He said a robust transportation sector was the backbone for the development of any economy, especially for a densely populated developing country like India, and the focus of the nation's mobility strategy was on sustainable modes of public transport, transport-oriented planning and digitisation. "The objective of the strategy is to plan for the citizens first, rather than focusing on vehicles alone, by providing sustainable mobility and accessibility by switching to cleaner mode of transportation," Kant said at the "Future Mobility Summit-2018-India's Move to NextGen Transport Systems". The road transportation segment alone contributes to around four per cent of India's GDP with the segment still being heavily dependent on fossil fuels. In the wake of the worsening air quality in the country's major cities, rising concerns of climate change and an ever-increasing oil import bill, mobility is a crucial piece of the development puzzle and the key to unlocking the potential of India's economy and people, the NITI Aayog CEO said. NITI Aayog Advisor Anil Srivastava said the government was working towards achieving a robust mobility ecosystem across India. "The citizens, on their part, should work towards sharing a ride, not owning the ride. The government has integrated many stake holders across departments to drive India's mobility vision," he added.