Page 36 - PR Communication Age MAY 2016

Minister for Road Transport, Highways to consumers by increasing prices of windscreens so that they can be spot-
and Shipping Nitin Gadkari said. larger packs. Industry players said such ted quickly. Safety of such drivers
an increase in prices is expected to hit largely depends on how other drive,"
Passing the crucial Bill to declare 111 consumption, especially in rural re- said a government official.
rivers across the country as National gions and smaller towns.
Waterways, Parliament has paved way SAARC Business Travellers'
for development of these stretches as The soft-drinks industry said it was al- card will be issued by
transport carriers. ready reeling under pressures of lower May: Foreign Sec
demand with consumers taking to
"India has its unique advantage. Its 14 healthier options. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar has said
States are bestowed with 7,500 km of the SAARC Business Travellers' card
coastline with 14,500-km of potentially Hearing impaired may that will ensure seamless movement of
navigable waterways. In addition, 116 soon get driving licence businessmen within the South Asian
rivers across the country provide region will be launched by May.
35,000 km of navigable stretches. In Persons with hearing impairment may
total we have about 50,000 km of soon be able to get driving licences "The SAARC Business Travellers' Card,
waterways which on development after passing tests. The road transport an initiative designed to enable easier
will change the face of India," Gadkari ministry is planning to incorporate pro- movement of South Asian businessmen
said. visions including some sort of "promi- to India, will be launched within May,"
nent identification" of vehicles driven he said while addressing the 42nd
Besides budgetary support, multilat- by such persons, in the rules. SAARC Standing Committee Meeting in
eral funds, public-private-partnership Pokhara, Nepal.
and market borrowing would be ex- Recently, social justice and empower-
plored, access to funds such as Na- ment minister Thawar Chand Gehlot He said that the speed of regional con-
tional Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) and had written to road transport minister nectivity has to be "hastened" particu-
Central Road Fund (CRF) will also be Nitin Gadkari to look into this aspect larly in those areas that are central to
required because of environment ben- and take necessary steps to enable the SAARC developmental agenda.
efit of IWT, he said. hearing-impaired persons to get driv-
ing licence. "In this context, I urge that we sign,
Aerated drinks and min- at an early date, the SAARC Motor
eral water products to get "We are considering all aspects. This is Vehicles Agreement and SAARC Rail-
costlier a genuine demand from one segment ways Agreement.
of the society and they must not be
In a move that is expected to hit the deprived of their right," Gadkari told. Finalisation and implementation of
soft-drinks, the government on has these agreements will realise a long
proposed to increase excise duty on Ministry sources said they are consid- standing dream of seamless movement
aerated drinks and mineral water prod- ering options like pasting stickers on of passengers and cargo through the
ucts to 21 per cent from the existing vehicles driven by the hearing-impaired entire region," he said.
18 per cent. to alert other drivers, as it is done in
the case of vehicles driven by someone He said the SAARC Knowledge Network
Soft-drink makers are expected to take with a learner's licence or a "child on would provide a unified high speed
price hikes of about 2%. However, the board" stamp. network backbone for knowledge re-
companies are likely to try and absorb lated institutions in the region.
the additional costs on smaller packs "In case of drivers with hearing impair-
meant for single serve and pass it on ment, we can think of pasting such
stickers both in the front and rear

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36 PR COMMUNICATION AGE May 2016