Ishan says that accepting that there’s a problem is the first step towards finding a solution. And so our Minister of Transport appears to be on the right track... On two occasions, in the recent past, I’ve heard our Minister of Transport, Highways and Shipping talk in detail about the automotive industry in India. Of course, he’s spelled out some policy changes that we can expect in the near future. Fortunately, his approach – and that of this government – seems to be positive and friendly towards industry. The government appears ready to listen to different points of view, which in itself is a dramatic change from administrations of the past that were happy to be isolated in their ivory towers – as our publically elected governments, and the bureaucracy, has done for decades. So, it was refreshing to see the minister encouraging the bigwigs of industry to come up with ideas and suggestions, with the assurance that the government would do its best to help them rather than thwart them – as has been the norm in the past. But, what was even more surprising and encouraging was the open acceptance by the minister that when the transport ministry started looking at the main causes for India being the country with the highest number of road fatalities in the world, it was two factors that stood out – the lack of driver training, and faulty road design. Just the fact that the minister in-charge of both these departments is willing to publically admit what is widely accepted is progress. It sure beats the ‘best to keep your head in the sand’ syndrome that we’ve lived with for so many years. In fact, he openly accepted that a large number of accidents happen due to poor road design. And while he didn’t present a comprehensive solution at present – which is likely to be a lengthy process given the size and diversity of our country – openly accepting the problem is the first step towards finding a solution. So, for my part, I’ll certainly give him – and his department – the benefit of the doubt for the moment, and allow them a reasonable amount of time to tackle this mammoth task. Moreover, it was encouraging to hear that there’s a dedicated team studying the biggest black spots on our roads – to analyse the flaws and come up with solutions. Similarly, he openly admitted that, according to their data, a very high percentage of driving licenses issued in the country are forged. Moreover, even amongst those who have genuine licenses, the percentage of them who’ve gone through legitimate driving tests is questionable. So, while we’re all being so candid, I can openly confess that when I got my driving license (over 13 years ago) the ARTO in-charge – as he sat basking in the sun on a pleasant January afternoon – simply asked me one question: which college I went to. I’m not entirely sure how that was relevant, but it seemed to satisfy him and somehow conveyed a level of proficiency on the road that enabled him to give me 9 marks out of 10 for driving skill and approve my licence. Given that this is unlikely to be an isolated incident, it provides some sense of the mammoth task that the government faces. And when you consider that, most likely, 90% of the drivers on our roads have no training whatsoever, you get some sense of the epic proportions of this challenge. So, the government has its task cut out on both counts – as it does on many other ills that plague our system – and neither task is a small or easy one. But, to give credit where it’s due, I have initial admiration for Mr. Nitin Gadkari’s openness in admitting the problem and spelling out the grave realities. What he does next will either reinforce or shatter this newfound admiration...
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