DIGITALIZATION OF NHAI: A VISIONARY OUTLOOK
Over recent years, Artificial Intelligence has gone from a science fiction to a critical fragment of our everyday lives. So when we are talking about AI in our lives we are talking about everything from the software being able to read a handwritten document like an OCR reader to algorithms that can monitor and process an enormous amount of data. The use of Artificial Intelligence has been on the augment in various sectors such as law, health, agriculture, finance, marketing, and retail. The Covid-19 pandemic has persuaded the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to accelerate towards being tech-savvy. Where Covid-19 have brought everything to a halt, NHAI has turned this adversity into a significant advantage. By incorporating certain smart and astute technologies based on artificial intelligence such as data analytics platform-Data Lake, project management software and predictive analytics, NHAI has completely transformed itself from manual to digital setup.
NHAI BECOMES FIRST IN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR TO GO 'FULLY DIGITAL'
NHAI is an autonomous organization of the Government of India, established under the
provisions of the National Highway Authority of India Act, 1988. Under the Chairmanship of
Sh. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu (IAS), NHAI has turned out to be the first of its kind in the
construction sector to go completely into a digital setup. It is commendable on the part of the
Chairman of NHAI under whose leadership the development of such a portal has been initiated
helping in transforming the construction sector. Such a remarkable concept of making
enormous data available at a click of a button will bring revolutionary changes to NHAI with
benefits like:-
- Quick decision making with deadlines and alert mechanism
- Forecasting delays and financial impacts of different alternatives well in advance
- Flexible storage & accessibility of date as the documents and related correspondence are being linked with GIS tagging and Unique Project Identities
- Reduction in the number of pending disputes
- Better coordination amongst various stakeholders with the integration of E-modules
- Augment transparency
- Resolution of issue of missing records
- Ability to work from anywhere and anytime.
Furthermore, under the inspiring leadership of the Chairman of NHAI, this digital setup has been executed in such a distinctive manner i.e. by utilizing the lockdown period for necessary
training and practice sessions to prepare various stakeholders for a digital milieu.
JOURNEY OF NHAI ON THE ROAD OF DIGITALIZATION
In the past, NHAI has undertaken several notable digital initiatives intended to streamline the procedures and enhance the productivity of the highway sector. In this regard, Bhoomi Rashi, INAMPRO, INFRACON are considered to be a significant step in monitoring the construction
and maintenance of the national highways. Further, the highway sector has constantly worked
to reduce the cost and time of construction via various digital initiatives. Below mentioned are
some of the initiatives that have marked their niche in various aspects related to Highways:-
- Reports relating to land acquisitions: -
Land acquisition is the primary component of the construction phase. Without
approval of the land acquisition proposal, there cannot be commencement of
construction. In this regard, Bhoomi Rashi is a prominent portal that aids in
reducing the time taken for authorization and publication of notifications
concerning the land acquisition.
- Evaluation of projects: -
INFRACON is an effective application that aids in capturing data of various
stakeholders and corporations associated with highway projects. This digital portal
also supports technical evaluation of highway-related tenders of the major
government agencies.
- E-Tolling:-
Electronic toll collection emanated as a holistic solution to facilitate a speedy,
effective and cashless payment. It used the radio frequency identification
technology for making payments that are directly deducted from the linked account.
This certainly ensures seamless traffic and avoids congestion at toll plazas. With
the onboarding FASTag card system, NHAI has witnessed an increase in toll
revenue by 40% in contrast to the average figure of about Rs. 60 crore. In addition
to this, as per data revealed by the National Payment Corporation of India, the
FASTag utilization rate at the toll plazas is nearly 16% to 18% of the total number
of transactions. While in April 2017 it was nearly 7.5 million, in one year, the usage
rate of FASTag increased to about 18 million. Subsequently, in the year 2019,
approximately 27% of revenue was collected via FASTags. From the abovementioned
data it would not be wrong to suggest that NHAI has significantly
boosted the economy of the nation.
- E-Markets:-
Various stakeholders of the highway projects can seamlessly have access to actual
facts and figures of materials, equipment, and services with just click of a button.
InamPro+ a successful application wherein by revealing prices and accessibility of
material this digital portal plays a vital role in estimating the cost of projects. In
addition to the above InamPro+’s integrated ceiling price tool supports the sellers
of different industries such as cement, steel etc. to sell their material at a price which
is fixed for three years with a legitimate yearly rise of maximum 10%.
This application was incorporated in June 2017 and in just a short span of 9 months
more than 270 sellers listed approximately 1000 products. Currently, more than 950
buyers have registered themselves on the platform. In the light of the above, one
can effortlessly plan and schedule projects with timely completion based on the
availability of the material, equipment, services etc.
- Invitations to Bid:-
Bidder Information Management System (BIMS) another incredible digital tool
that assists in considerably reducing time for the valuation of pre-qualification with
enhanced transparency. BIMS application was incorporated to streamline the
procedure concerning pre-qualification of bidders for various contracts associated
with NHAI and also other centrally sponsored contracts.
- Road Safety:-
The Road Asset Management System (RAMS) is a successful application to
tackle the road accident problem. This application is linked with Geographical
Information System (GIS) to manage accident data besides, identifying black spots.
PROGRESSIVE BENEFITS OF ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE IN HIGHWAY SECTOR
The areas of AI application are diverse. This part of the article makes an attempt to elucidate how AI devices will be beneficial in the Highway sector and in what manner it will result in a
productive and profitable transformation. The following are certain potential benefits of the
digitalization of NHAI:-
- Enhanced Transparency:-
With the notable move of transforming entire manual work to the online portal, the
complete project documents and its correspondence is stored in a digital setup
which is allied with GIS-tagging and Unique Project Identities along with
deadlines and alert mechanism. Consequently, without any hassle, these documents
can be retrieved whenever required, and also there is no problem of missing any
record.
- Cost-Effectiveness:-
The most remarkable software application 'Data Lake' and project management
software support accurate and speedy decision-making as the software forecasts
the financial impact of various alternatives based on their historical data. Besides,
it also analytically extracts information and systematically deals with documents
that are enormous and complex.
This certainly has a two-fold utility outcome, firstly in terms of 'cost-effectiveness'
as Cloud storage supports in providing data on-demand, besides data can be
effortlessly be recovered at any time from any location which inevitability reduces
purchasing and handling of the data storage structure. Secondly, the opting for a
paperless mode of working would undoubtedly aid in protecting the environment.
- Reduced Litigations:-
It has been observed that several arbitration cases are pending with a huge amount
of claims and counterclaims, yet the majority of cases are generic. To overcome the
same, AI-based application- Data Lake supports in predicting delays, disputes,
shows advance alerts and keep track of the constraints such as handing over of the
encumbrance free site to the contractors, charges due to idling of plant, machinery,
and equipment. With such a digital drive, the problem areas would become easy to
identify and NHAI in due course would definitely witness the reduction of cases.
- Improved real-time interactions:-
E-module being one of the digital aspects would certainly bring about a perfect
synchronization between various stakeholders such as contractors, customers, and
independent engineers, etc. as now all contractual approvals will be undertaken via
portal only. This will not only ensures that work is carried out within deadlines but
also benefits in quick decision making. Moreover, this will result in enhanced
accountability as both officers and various stakeholders will be able to comprehend
what is going on in real-time, which will lead to an enhanced collective
performance.
To sum up, this transformation comes with great responsibilities, and going forward with this
remarkable revolution in the highway sector the harmonization of people and technology
becomes imperative. It is pertinent to note that people and technology do not work in isolation.
The challenge that comes with this transformation is the inadequate access to technology and
a weak digital knowledge. Nevertheless, it is now time for all the stakeholders to broaden up
their perspective and effectively participate to embrace this new mode of working. This
transformation will go a long way in sharpening the highway sector, tightening costs, and
boosting the economy of the nation.
Views Are Personal Only
(The authors are practicing advocates based in Chandigarh)
Authorship of Mr. Raghujeet Singh Madan, Managing Partner & Ms. Sonia Madan assisted by Ms. Aditi Lakhanpal.
