North-East centre of NATRiP Dholchora inaugurated by Industry Minister

The Dholchora Campus of the National Institute for Automotive Inspection, Maintenance And Training was inaugurated by the Hon. Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh. In attendance was an impressive political entourage consisting of local luminaries like Shri Dinesh Prasad Goala, Hon. Minister for Urban Development Housing, Government of Assam, Shri Kabindra Purkayastha, Hon. MP from Silchar, Dr. Rumi Nath, MLA from Borkhola and of course our very own former Minister of Heavy Industries, Shri Sontosh Mohan Dev and a plethora of other dignitaries, including Shri Rajesh Singh, CEO and Project Director, NATRIP.

 

Inaugurating the Dholchora campus, Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh, Hon. Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises stated that this was a very important centre to come up in this region and not only a pride for the North-Eastern parts but the entire country. He emphasized that such a centre would encourage OEMs to set up factories here and accompanying ancillary units like components would surely fuel economic growth in this region. Hon. Minister stated that with modern driving aids like the Driving simulator present here, people could practice driving virtually without endangering other road users and become proficient drivers within a short period of time. He vowed to carry on the good work done by his predecessor, Shri Sontosh Mohan Dev and promised full support to all running projects.

 

Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh, Hon. Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises especially mentioned that this centre would help upgrade the driving skills in this region and make the on road vehicles better maintained with fast upcoming facility of automated Inspection and Maintenance, the first of its kind in this region. He said that the mechanics training institute would also help in better maintenance of vehicles thereby improving the overall road safety profile in the north east.

 

Hon. Minister for HI and PE also inaugurated the driving simulator, the first in this region and one of handful in the country.

 

While the Indian Automobile Industry is growing at an impressive rate, there is a growing concern regarding the increase in number of accidents taking place on Indian roads. India accounts for about 10% of road accident fatalities world-wide equivalent to hundred and twenty thousand lives. Also, as per a survey, India looses around Rs.55,000 Crores annually due to the road traffic accidents.

 

This necessitates important action to be taken by the automobile researchers and engineers for promoting vehicle safety. Road Safety in the developing countries is assuming a serious dimension with fatal and serious accidents on the rise. Other areas of concern are the constant rise in number of traffic violations, and unabated congestion resulting in road rage, crime, and pollution.

 

At the Dholchora campus in Silchar, a hill driver Training centre equipped with training tracks, and a driving simulator is already functional. This, coupled with knowledgeable and efficient trainers will help train commercial vehicle drivers to drive safely in hilly terrain and all weather conditions. This is especially important, considering the fact commercial drivers spend most of their working life on roads, which leave a lot to be desired in terms of safety, signage etc.

 

The biggest bane of most truck drivers is undoubtedly overloading and sometimes rash driving. However, it has been seen that with proper instruction and education, most truck drivers refrain from such counterproductive practices. Also, concepts of scientific traffic management, usage of vehicle controls and systems i.e. turn signal indicators, importance of maintenance and basic driving skills like hill holding with load, are in a position to be taught today. Currently, experts are imparting lessons both on the simulator, as well as in a mix of theory classes and practical demonstration training.

 

Jaffirbond, which is racing towards its finish line, is almost ready to start what has been envisioned as the most important factor which could make our roads safer today: Inspection and maintenance (I and M). Today, there are more vehicles on the road than ever before, and this has compounded the problems of maintenance and upkeep of all vehicles, especially commercial ones. Studies show that sometimes even basic maintenance is lacking like tyre tread depth, usage of lights, especially blinkers and rear combination lamps etc. are woefully inadequate. Add to this overloading and bad driving practices and a sure recipe for disaster raises its ugly head. The Jaffirbond campus aims to impart quality education on I and M to students who will be the future of the vehicle industry of India and thereby create a whole new generation of youngsters who will be the demand of the automobile industry of tomorrow. Further, the Jaffirbond campus unique I and M initiative is likely to be involved in the national Inspection and Certification (I and C) regime, which is being initiated by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in North-Eastern areas.

 

The Dholchora and Jaffirbond campuses are a unique collaboration between the Government, the public and industry. With the first batch of instructional sessions already underway, this centre is poised to play a leading role in the entire northeastern area, given the fact that the North-East is primarily a hilly region and has some of the most beautiful (and dangerous) roads in the entire country.

 

National Automotive Testing and R and D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP), the largest and one of the most significant initiatives in the automotive sector so far, represents a unique joining of hands between the Government of India, a number of State Governments and Indian Automotive Industry to create a state of the art Testing, Validation and R and D infrastructure in the country. The Project aims at creating core global competencies in the automotive sector in India and facilitates seamless integration of Indian Automotive industry with the world as also to position the country prominently on the global automotive map. The facilities under NATRiP at Manesar, Chennai, VRDE Ahmednagar , ARAI Pune, Rae Bareilly, Silchar and Indore will not only provide comprehensive homologation and product testing and validation facilities for vehicles and components but will also foster global competencies for generic research and development geared to catapult India into the league of nations with automotive excellence. NATRiP centers will house several Centre of Excellence for advanced research in emerging areas of technologies.