Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science and Technology Jitendra Singh on Monday (10 May) said that world class indigenous technology is now available in India for road and highway construction.
The Minister was speaking at a programme to dedicate to the public two equipment developed by CSIR in the Union Ministry of Science & Technology for latest value addition in road construction and highways.
Singh added that many of the sectoral ministries are not fully aware of the technology being offered for application in their sector and, therefore, he has initiated a process wherein scientists from different streams separately sit with representatives of each of the sectoral ministries to explain to them how best they can utilise the available technology, a Science and Technology ministry release said on Monday.
Singh, along with Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and MoS General (Retired) V K Singh, launched Mobile Cold Mixer Cum Paver’ for constructing black top layer using bitumen emulsion and ‘Patch Fill Machine’ for Pothole repair along the road.
Singh said increasing application of science and technology in the Road Transport and Highways sector is adding great value to India’s developmental journey.
He said the use of affordable, sustainable and recyclable technologies in the road and highways sector is fast building the arterial network of India.
The minister said India is taking lead and marching fast with a vengeance to outpace many developing countries in cutting-edge technologies and reiterated that India’s ascent in coming decades will be determined through science, technology and innovation.
Referring to the dedication of two equipment of ‘Mobile Cold Mixer Cum Paver’ for constructing black top layer using bitumen emulsion and ‘Patch Fill Machine’ for Pothole repair to the nation, Singh said these are the perfect examples of “Atmanirbhar Bharat” as both the equipment are completely built indigenously.
The minister said Cold Mixer and Patch Fill Machine will play a significant role in building roads and Highways in hilly states of India, particularly in the North-Eastern Region.
Singh said that CSIR is known for its cutting edge R&D knowledge base in diverse science and technology areas.
He added that the Road Transport Ministry and other CSIR laboratories should join hand to provide better technological interventions in various other sectors such as Tunnelling, Alternate fuels, Electronics (RFID Tags, etc), Binders for road pavement – Hydrocarbon as well as Geopolymer, Road Side Plantation, Environment Impact Studies, Machineries & Equipment, etc.
The minister said that the major R&D Programmes of CSIR-CRRI encompass the entire spectrum of roads and road transportation including bridges, road safety, road environment, etc.