Our Delhi correspondent says that on Tuesday, Union Minister Kamal Nath will be releasing a prototype of what is being called a master mobility card for commuters, which has been designed on the lines of Metro smart cards with the benefits of an ATM card.

This means commuters can use the card to hop on to the Metro, train or government bus across all major cities in India, without the hassle of queuing up for paper tickets.

A Mumbai cardholder can use the same plastic while visiting say Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore or Ahmedabad.

It is so designed that it takes care of different tariffs applicable in different cities for different modes of travel.

The card can be updated like the prepaid mobile phone service by buying the recharge coupons. Plans are afoot to subsequently integrate other modes of transport like autorickshaws and taxis.