Mr Gaurav Gupta, Director, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India today said that the government is committed to bring down the road fatalities and injuries, and has taken a series of steps to reduce these number.

Speaking at the panel discussion during the ‘Road Safety Week’ observed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Govt of India in association with FICCI from 11-17 January 2023, Mr Gupta said, “The Ministry is highly committed to bring down road fatalities by taking organized steps which include rectification of accident black for improved road engineering, training of drivers, awareness generation campaigns to name a few.”

He added that road fatalities not only lead to significant human sufferings, but also drains the GDP of the country by claiming lakhs of economically productive young lives. “Ministry along with all the stakeholders is putting forth efforts for making roads and vehicles as safe as possible. To achieve the desired target, a complete paradigm shift in the behavior of road users is necessary,” added Mr Gupta.

“There is a need for social awareness and mass movement to inculcate the safer road behavior and habits to bring changes,” he stated.

Highlighting the importance on ‘Role of Corporates in Road Safety’, Dr Subroto Das, Managing Trustee & CEO, Lifeline Foundation said, “We need more NGOs collaborating with industry to ensure instant medical care & road safety.”

Mr Ravi Prasad Nimmalapudi, Director, Quality, Safety & Environment, Coca Cola said, “Safety is a science and we need to bring in the data & data mining to bring road safety in the forefront.”

Mr Abhilash Verma, High Risk Transport Lead, Shell India said, “Creating safe road ecosystem can be the one big solution and it can only happen through collaboration.”

Dr Bipin Kumar Rai, Head – ESH, Continental India said, “Safety curriculum needs to be imbibed at early days of the education system & childcare.”

Ms Tejal Tyagi, Head Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) – South Asia, Unilever said, “This is the time for action with collective effort to make roads safer.”

The panel discussion was moderated by Mr Ramashankar Pandey, Chair, FICCI Sub-Committee on Road Safety and CEO, Tata AutoComp GY Batteries Pvt Ltd.

During the event, awards were distributed to the winners of poster making & essay writing competitions organized during the Road Safety Week.