18/12/2019 - Government Policies

IAS Parliament 5 years

KEY POINTS

· While the changes are many in Motor Vehicle Act (Amendment) Bill, 2019., the focus areas include road safety, citizen-government interaction, and last-mile connectivity.

· After the amendments, while state governments will continue to issue licences to the aggregators, the states will need to work in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Centre.

· Further, as cab aggregators use technology as a platform to conduct business, the law also requires them to comply with the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

· One of the most significant takeaways from the law is that of a statutory recognition to a ubiquitous, but nascent industry—moving the cab aggregating industry from operating at the fringes of the regulatory landscape to specific regulatory policies being formulated in the context of a dynamic industry.

· The Indian regulations can be expected to cover some of these aspects, which have been hitherto grey areas.

· Other positives for cab aggregators could include matters that bring in operational simplicity, such as recognition for digitized documents and clearly demarcated accountabilities of aggregators and drivers.

· While there is a welcoming notion perhaps for the cab aggregators, this could also lead to higher costs associated with compliance.

· Higher penalties for non-compliance of licence conditions, requirement to comply with provisions of the IT Act, and an increase in insurance costs could place more burden of compliance on such cab aggregators.

· Alignment with global practices, especially those dealing with customer safety and driver rights protection, are expected to have a positive impact on the society at large.