On November 24, 2020, NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) constituted a High-level committee to explore the technological and commercial viability of Virgin Hyperloop Technology for ultrahigh speed travel in India, Vijay Kumar Saraswat (V.K. Saraswat), NITI Aayog member & Chairman of Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) was appointed as the Chairman and Adviser of the committee & Sudhendu Jyoti, Adviser, NITI Aayog as its convener.
The committee will submit a report within six months time of its first meeting.
Objective:
i.The Committee will look into the Technological, Commercial, Financial viability.
ii.The Committee will assess the safety standards and regulations required to procure new technology.
iii.The report will act as a blueprint for taking forward the hyperloop technology in India.
Other Members of the Committee:
i.Railways Board Chairman & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), V.K. Yadav, Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy, Chairman of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Mangu Singh, Delhi Metro’s Managing Director,  Dr. Ramgopal Rao, Director of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-Delhi)
ii.Secretaries of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Road Transport and Highways, and Maharashtra Government’s Transport Secretary have also been appointed as members of the committee.
Virgin Hyperloop:
On November 8, 2020, Virgin Hyperloop successfully completed the first-ever human trial in the hyperloop pod at the 500 metre DevLoop test facility in Las Vegas,United States (US).
Hyperloop:
i.It is a next-generation travel system which uses pods or capsules travelling at high speeds through low-pressure tubes erected on columns or tunnelled underground using magnetic levitation.
Hyperloop in India:
i.Maharashtra Government recognized hyperloop as a public infrastructure project and approved the Virgin Hyperloop-DP World Consortium for the Mumbai-Pune hyperloop project.
ii.In October, 2020 Virgin Hyperloop announced a partnership with Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) to conduct feasibility study for a proposed hyperloop corridor from Bangalore Airport.
iii.In 2019, Virgin Hyperloop signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Punjab’s Transport Department.
Recent Related News:
i.On September 27, 2020 Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) and Virgin Hyperloop signed a first-of-its-kind Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) to conduct a feasibility study for Hyperloop corridor from Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB/BLR airport).
About Virgin Hyperloop:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Jay Walder
Headquarters – Los Angeles, United State
About NITI Aayog:
Chief Executive Officer – Amitabh Kant
Headquarters – New Delhi
