India to see massive tech upgradation; Delhi to Mumbai travel may become possible within an hour

The Indian Government is planning massive changes in transportation sector and adding a dash of tech to it.

Government’s think-tank Niti Aayog has approved six proposals for high-tech public transport, which will improve travel experience.

The transport ministry has constituted a six-member committee which will be headed by a former top official of Railways. The committee will study safety parameters associated with these technologies and global practices.

"These new technologies are path breaking and can alter the way of intercity travel in the country. Since we don't have any such thing in India, we need to know the global safety standards and ensure that these technology companies are following it. Even for the pilot project, passenger safety is paramount,” a senior transport ministry official told ET.

As part of the plan, six major technologies such as metrino, stadler buses, hyperloop, pod taxis, hybrid buses and freight rail road will be tested in India.

"Something like metrino (pod taxis) is almost one tenth of the cost of the metro, so there's a cost advantage as well. However, technologies such as hyperloop can take some time but we would like them to come to India,” the official told ET.