India, Feb. 25 -- Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has reportedly announced that the ministry will collaborate with IIT-Madras to develop vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicles.

As per PTI, the project will be funded by the Ministry of Railways and will look to promote "innovative" means of travel. He made the comments while virtually addressing the closing ceremony of the Global Hyperloop Competition 2025 organised by IIT-Madras.

For the uninitiated, VTOL simply refers to an aircraft that can take off and land vertically, without needing a runway and takes off from ground similar to a helicopter. A use case for the technology is flying taxis.

"This will prove to be a very important step in promoting modern and innovative chang...