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

  • UN General Assembly adopts a resolution on “Improving global road safety”
    June 8, 2016
    The UN General Assembly and its Member States have adopted on 15 April 2016 a resolution on "Improving global road safety". The resolution, which was tabled by the Government of the Russian Federation, was co-sponsored by 55 governments. IRF Geneva was represented in New York by Susanna Zammataro, IRF executive director, for the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC) Group meeting and the discussions leading up to the adoption of a the new resolution by the UN General Assembly. Zoleka Mandela,
    Read More
  • India's US$100 billion highway investment
    May 29, 2012
    India intends to continue its massive investment in highway spending. Predictions for the next five years say that up to US$100 billion will be spent on road building in the country in the coming five years. The Ministry for Road Transport and Highways plans to build 35,000km of highways, with 60% being provided by the Government budget and 40% from the private sector. The Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways will open up tendering for nine highway projects. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI
    Read More
  • Safe Roads Safe Kids Project: delivering a safe journey to school
    October 15, 2018
    Every year 186,300 children die from road traffic crashes around the world. That is more than 500 children every day. Road traffic injury ranks among the top four causes of death for all children over the age of five years. According to data reported by the Moroccan Comité national de prévention des accidents de la circulation (CNPAC), young people below the age of 14 represent 15% of all the deaths on Moroccan roads and the majority of these are pedestrians. Many of these fatalities are amongst children
    Read More
  • Global credit squeeze impacts Australia's road construction
    July 13, 2012
    Roads Australia steps up in policy debate as road construction feels the pinch of the credit squeeze, as Mark Bowmer (RA media director) reports Like all markets around the world, Australia is feeling the effects of the global credit squeeze and its impact on the delivery of major infrastructure projects such as roads. In Sydney, for example, lack of funding (both from government and private sources) is seen as the major stumbling block to the construction of a much-needed eastern extension to Sydney's main
    Read More

Highlighted Content