Regaining Lost Momentum
The Pune-based Central Institute of Road Transport is regaining the lost momentum in 2020 to attain new highs.
The Pune-based Central Institute of Road Transport is regaining the lost momentum in 2020 to attain new highs.
The Pune-based Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) was no exception to plans going awry for organisations in a pandemic-hit 2020. Braving the catastrophe with cautious optimism, CIRT is fast regaining the lost momentum in 2020. It is nearing pre-Covid capabilities of tackling a fullload en route to attaining newer highs. Averred Capt. (Dr.) Rajendra B. Saner-Patil, Director, CIRT, “Initially we resumed operations at 30-40 per cent levels. It involved dealing with State Transport Undertakings (STUs).” CIRT, according to Capt. (Dr.) Patil was quick to overcome limitations, like resuming physical training sessions for industry and academia, by commencing virtual trainings in August. “We were able to reach out to stakeholders of the industry despite the odds stacked against us on critical subjects like the new motor vehicle bill in a bid to cover its amendments,” he claimed. In quick succession, CIRT expanded the virtual sessions to an array of topics in the usual, in-depth manner, as is expected from the joint initiative of the Ministry of Shipping and Transport and the Association of State Road Transport Undertaking.
Taking over the baton from Capt. (Dr.) Patil, Shekhar Dhole, Scientist - C & Head Safety & Homologation/Certification added, “We have now reached a stage of getting approvals from all our labs. It’s an achievement this year despite the unprecedented delay of close to two full quarters.” Citing the addition of new facilities at CIRT being in the pipeline, Dhole drew attention to the spare capacity earmarked for higher assignment load-bearing capacity that may be needed. CIRT is banking on select intermediate aggregators in case of availability issues, he stated.
Taking a considerable effort to be by the component and vehicle Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) side, at CIRT, shared Dhole, the approach is to have an unbiased take on designs submitted even in the hour of the crisis. “No design is perfect so we often come across manufacturer designs that have scope for improvement. It’s a continuous improvement process and when approached positively, it has yielded positive outcomes for the stakeholders,” he exclaimed.
Post-BSVI-rollout
CIRT worked closely with the stakeholders of the industry for a seamless rollout of Bharat Stage VI (BSVI) norms in April 2020. Admitted Dhole, that while the testing agencies like itself were ready along with the OEMs much ahead of time, BSVI fuel distribution was a big fear factor for the industry. Post the gradual easing of lockdowns, in the unlock phases, he said, the availability of BSVI models is at a higher level than in Q1FY2021. For instance, CIRT has only recently certified almost eight models for Mahindra & Mahindra alone. Dhole opined, by the end of the calendar year 2020 or up to the next financial year, a new stream of BSVI models are expected to hit the market.
On the industry preparing for future norms like BSVII, quipped Dhole, it was a little too premature for the planned rollout in 2027. “For now the resources are being utilised for gathering Real Driving Emissions (RDEs) and making it available from 2023. It is this data that will lay the foundation for the transition to BSVII.
Flex-fuel engines
The industry is pursuing flex-fuel engines cautiously. “They are also not fully aware of the norms being fixed,” opined Dhole. Sharing that the industry was working on select engines to test the technology and based on the success a series of engines could well be certified. “By the time the financial year ends, more variety will be available and we are positively looking at the developments around it,” he expressed. Dhole advocated in favour of shaping up a buyers market rather than a seller’s market with the stream of engines made available eventually, for customers to choose from. CIRT has gone on to certify ED95 for use with diesel and is claimed to be running trials with the help of STUs
on end-of-life vehicles. “It’s a good sign as STUs are very innovative. For fuel savings, they will go all out and readily lap up such experiments.” “After all the second-biggest cost to STUs, other than tyres, is the fuel,” he quipped.
Ecosystem for EVs
Contributing to the infrastructure for a new breed of electric vehicles, CIRT is relying on its close synergies with STUs. Citing the example of Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd. (PMPML) fleet of 142 plus buses, Dhole explained the model wherein the buses are financed by OEMs thereby reducing the liability of STUs. “It is an investment of the individual manufacturer or the financier and kilometres are fixed and traffic congestion is factored,” he stated. Expecting the use of vehicles in city operations backed by the 2030 roadmap stipulated by the ministry to be fruitful, CIRT has certified one intercity bus. As per Dhole, it is ready to explore tougher terrains like hilly regions. Add to it, a project on retrofitting ICE-diesel buses as electric, for operation from the MP house to Parliament is claimed to have been a big success.
Vocal for local
In the Indian context, manufacturers often rely on base standards and are found to rely on overseas partners to import it in an alternative approach to taking advice available on home ground. Advocating the use of domestic expertise coupled with the support from the ministry can be as effective in tackling India specific issues, he opined. “We are very positive about government policies coming to the industry’s way. We assure the industry complete support for shortest lead times and a frugal approach to keep the costs low,” expressed Dhole. As the industry explores the use of alternative materials and indigenous ways of testing, sooner than later, it will present a compelling case for the industry to go indigenous, he opined.
He cited the example of bus bodybuilders taking the lead, for instance. CIRT, as per Dhole, played a big role in the development of the ‘Made In India’ tarmac bus that is CMVR certified. Like the bus bodybuilders came for ward proactively, we have to make good use of the skillsets at hand, and offer support and guidance that may be needed to attain the desired objective of localisation. Dhole called for the need to shift focus from overheads and be rest assured that the market is willing to absorb technically superior products. “It is the durability of the product and the faith that will help the strateg y sustain in the long run,” he exclaimed.
Cautioning against compromising on quality, Dhole was quick to classify component grades as A, B and C stemming from the manufacturing process itself. “You have to aggregate them and we advise the OEMs to either schedule these components for the country with modification or scrap them instead,” he opined. Calling out the practice of flooding the replacement market, he warned, it would only earn negative feedback from end-users.