Remembering King
Canute !
============
There is no need to repeat this story
but I could not help getting reminded of the same when I read following news
report ( Economic Times / 17 July ) :
Transport Min won’t Board Niti’s Car-Pooling
Plan
The transport ministry is not in favour
of Niti Aayog’s suggestion that taxi aggregators should be allowed to rope in
private cars to increase the availability of vehicles for passengers.
The ministry’s view is that vehicles
used for commercial operations are registered as such and there is no such provision in the Motor Vehicles Act to
allow private cars to run as app-based taxis, including operations such as
ride-sharing and pooling.
“We have to protect the interests of
over 5 million taxi owners who have paid commercial duties and permit fees to
run taxis. Their employment cannot be endangered and also allowing private cars would be something like doing
away with the concept of taxis,” a top government official said.
Currently, commercial vehicles attract
higher duties, insurance premium and other permit charges than private
vehicles.
The official said the safety of
passengers using such services also has to be kept in mind.
“Even if it’s a lot of convenience,
various legal aspects also have to be kept in mind. Even if it’s allowed, some registration mechanism for such cars has to be
found,” the official added.
India is examining the use of private vehicles as shared taxis in an effort
to reduce car ownership and curb growing traffic congestion in major cities.
Niti Aayog, which is chaired by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, has partnered with companies including ride-sharing
firm Uber Technologies to assess the economic and environmental impact of using
private cars as taxis, a government official involved in the process said.
The idea is to set up a clear and reasonable regulatory framework for ride-sharing
so it allows companies to operate in India without ambiguity.
Such a move could dent car sales in
India, where the ownership ratio is low compared with other countries.
There are about 20 cars for every 1,000
people in India.
But then , Shri Amitabh Kant ( CEO- NITI
Aayog ) has repeatedly said :
“ Regulatory framework always lags
behind technological innovations and is, perpetually , in the catch-up mode “
Judiciary
in the footsteps of Technology ?
He is a patient man who perseveres –
never gives up !
And he is backed by a visionary like
Shri Anand Mahindra , whose Company is also moving in the direction of
ride-sharing cars !
18 July 2017
www.hemenparekh.in
/ blogs
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