The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has initiated the Mobility and Intelligent Transportation (MInT) collaborative which aims at constructing a global digital infrastructure for mobility.

Shri Neeraj Mittal IAS, Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, officially launched the Collaborative today, Thursday, April 4, during a virtual event held at the IIT Madras campus.

What would this project aim to do?
This project would operate on the principle of "collaboration and competition", where the institute will aim to unite industry competitors, government bodies, and academic innovators to jointly develop the mobility digital infrastructure (Bharat Multimodal Mobility Stack or BM3S). This collaborative effort aims to facilitate comprehensive system solutions.

MInT is a global initiative to build mobility digital infrastructure and an R&D (Research and Development) portfolio besides developing a skilled workforce to develop breakthrough mobility solutions to realise the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as:

- Sustainable Transport (11.2): 50% reduction in total transport emissions

- Accident Prevention (3.6): 50% reduction in fatalities

- Energy Efficiency (7.3): 50% of all transport from net zero modes

The event took place at the campus with the Inaugural Mobility Summit. Neeraj Mittal IAS, Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, and Prof Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (Alumni and Corporate Relations) at IIT Madras, graced the event alongside government officials, faculty, industry experts, researchers, and students.

More about the initiative
Digital infrastructure serves as a complementary and optimising force alongside physical infrastructure and is set to drive innovation in future mobility. This digital framework integrates all facets of the mobility ecosystem, encompassing data streams, payment systems, vehicle technologies, multi-modal passenger and freight networks, and digital twin models.

This would aid any forthcoming significant technological breakthroughs in various domains and would also foster the advancement of electric vehicles, autonomous driving, and intelligent transportation systems

It is considered to be important as such a framework is indispensable for any nation to progress in its mobility evolution, ensuring safety, sustainability, and equity. This represents a digital public asset essential for fostering mobility growth.