Holistic approach and an integrated policy can boost the road transport sector and address its challenges, said GC Raja Ratnam, Deputy Transport Commissioner, Visakhapatnam District.

He was delivering the keynote address at ‘Lead the Road’, the second edition of Transporters’ Meet organised by the BusinessLine in association with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd and Mahindra Small Commercial Vehicles, here on Friday.

Transport sector is a major driver for economic growth and and plays a key role in generating employment, he said. “Several drivers and operators are dependent on this sector for their livelihood. The sector also influences several departments and policies of the Government,” he added.

Road transport caters to the needs of many sectors and is elastic to global oil price fluctuations as oil pricing in the country is now being determined by market dynamics, he said. The Government has been spending significantly on transport infrastructure. “The Union Budget 2020-21 has earmarked ₹83,000 crore for road development while total investment being made is over and above ₹8 lakh crore in recent years,” Ratnam said.

To mobilise funds for infrastructure, public private participation mode could be the way forward, he added.

Referring to state of roads, the official said, “Andhra Pradesh has far better road infrastructure in terms of rural and urban connectivity as well as highways compared to its counterparts in north and eastern India.”

Issues

Referring to challenges being faced by the road transport sector, he identified finance as one of the major issues. “There is greater competition in pricing due to multiplicity of players driven by easy availability of finance. This is resulting in viability issues,” Ratnam said. There has also been a shortage of drivers as many were not preferring to come to the profession. “For addressing challenges in the transport sector, we should have a holistic approach and find integrated solutions,’’ he said.

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