IRF Geneva holds high level roundtables on intelligent transportation systems (ITS) in India

The economic boom witnessed in India in the last two decades has led to an exponential increase in motorisation, urban traffic congestion and a dramatic deterioration of air quality. ITS can potentially alleviate many of these urban transport problems. IRF Geneva is organising a series of four roundtables on Intelligent Transport Systems, over a 12-month period, in India. These roundtables are a collaborative effort between companies and Indian government bodies and agencies to improve market conditions for
June 14, 2017 Read time: 3 mins
The aim of the IRF roundtables is to utilise the benefits of ITS to improve India’s road transport
The economic boom witnessed in India in the last two decades has led to an exponential increase in motorisation, urban traffic congestion and a dramatic deterioration of air quality


ITS can potentially alleviate many of these urban transport problems. 1201 IRF Geneva is organising a series of four roundtables on Intelligent Transport Systems, over a 12-month period, in India. These roundtables are a collaborative effort between companies and Indian government bodies and agencies to improve market conditions for the adoption and deployment of ITS in India.

The IRF-ITS Roundtables aim to facilitate and stimulate the deployment of safe, smart and sustainable ITS solutions for road networks. ITS has contributed to significantly reducing road crashes, congestion and pollution in many countries, but in India, the adoption and use of ITS has been limited.

The IRF-ITS Roundtables bring together national and local government officials, and industry leaders on one platform to jointly lead and transform policy, legislation, and technology. The aim is to create the right market conditions and partnerships to fully leverage the potential of ITS to benefit society and the economy.

The first roundtable was held in Delhi in November 2016. The second roundtable was held in Delhi in March 2017. These two roundtables identified the barriers to the widespread adoption and use of ITS in India, ways to reduce or eliminate these barriers, and explored ways to leverage ITS to address the problems of urban transport in India. The roundtables further identified pilot projects that the participating organisations could implement as “proof of concept” to demonstrate the potential of ITS. Currently, IRF Geneva is working, together with its partners, on several of these smart mobility pilot projects.

The final product of these roundtables will be a road map for the adoption and use of ITS to address the problems of urban transport in India. Specific solutions, based on the pilot projects, will be recommended, together with proposals on how to implement these recommendations.

The Indian 1143 Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Niti Aayog, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), the 4218 Department of Heavy Industry, and the Delhi Police are among the organisations supporting and/or participating in the IRF ITS Roundtables. Amitabh Kant, CEO Niti Aayog, kicked off the series of roundtables on November 10th, 2016 at the Claridges Hotel in New Delhi. Kant said that he is a firm believer in: ”India`s ability to leapfrog with the further use of ITS.”

The organisations participating in these roundtables include Autostrade per L’Italia, BMW, Inrix, IPS, Swarco, Infrastructure Lease and Financial Services, National Highway Authority of India, National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited, Skidata, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Shell, PTV Group, and Streetsmart Technologies.

Related Content

  • The IRF Geneva signs memorandum of Understanding with the Transportation Research Board (TRB)
    May 10, 2018
    Last November, at the IRF World Road Meeting in Delhi, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Tranportation Research Board Executive Director Neil Pedersen, Kiran K Kapila, chairman of the International Road Federation (IRF) in Geneva, and Susanna Zammataro, IRF Geneva Executive Director. TRB and IRF Geneva share mutual organisational objectives, and this MoU provides a conceptual framework for partnership to share knowledge, improve implementation of innovative solutions, disseminate good pract
    Read More
  • IRF Executives Talks: shaping the future of Intelligent transportation
    August 29, 2024
    Technological advances for the intelligent transportation sector are developing at incredible speed globally. For many leaders in the sector, one of the biggest challenges is how they should use new technology to shape the future of intelligent transportation. SWARCO chief executive, Michael Schuch, put forward his ideas in conversation with IRF Director General Susanna Zammataro ahead of the IRF World Congress in Istanbul in October.
    Read More
  • China's Roads Convention focuses on sustainability
    February 9, 2012
    IRF joins with key Chinese transport authorities to lead the way in efforts to make sustainable rural mobility, transport and access a reality for millions throughout the world. Jointly organised by IRF and the China Highway and Transportation Society (CHTS), together with the Shandong Provincial Transportation Department, the landmark 2nd International Convention on Rural Roads, hosted in the beautiful city of Jinan, China, marked a major step forward in global efforts to mobilise resources and knowledge f
    Read More
  • Improving conspicuity and safety for India’s cyclists
    March 13, 2014
    IRF’s India Chapter launches major drive to promote the conspicuity of cyclists Road accident deaths in India are among the highest in the world. Cyclists constitute a particularly vulnerable category of road users with more than 6,800 estimated to have lost their lives on the country’s roads in 2011 alone. A large proportion of the fatalities can be attributed to nothing more than the fact that cyclists are not always sufficiently conspicuous to other road users. To address this tragic state of aff
    Read More

Highlighted Content