Skip to main content

India spending on improving safety of roads

The Indian Government is looking to upgrade its road links and also improve the condition of many road links right across the country, with a view to improving safety, as well as transportation. A series of infrastructure plans are being implemented, aimed at improving road conditions in the country. India’s Ministry for Road Transport and Highways is keen to improve road safety and reduce the fatality rate in the country. The Indian Government is establishing a Road Safety Authority that is being charged
January 14, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The Indian Government is looking to upgrade its road links and also improve the condition of many road links right across the country, with a view to improving safety, as well as transportation. A series of infrastructure plans are being implemented, aimed at improving road conditions in the country.

India’s Ministry for Road Transport and Highways is keen to improve road safety and reduce the fatality rate in the country. The Indian Government is establishing a Road Safety Authority that is being charged with the task of halving the country’s road fatality rate. At present there are around 500,000 crashes/year in India and which kill around 150,000/year.

Some US$1.64 billion will be spent over the next five years on improving road infrastructure along 726 stretches that have been identified as having a high rate of crashes. The construction of flyovers and underpasses will be carried out as part of this plan in a bid to reduce risks for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.

Around 50,000km of roads are likely to be reclassified as National Highways. The move will see these roads being upgraded from single or double lanes to four-, six- or eight-lane highways. This initiative will increase India’s total length of National Highways to around 150,000km.

And another project is for the evaluation of the use of asphalt surfacing for concrete roads in the Western/Eastern peripheral expressways next to the Meerut-Delhi Expressway. This move forms part of a plan to extend the lifespan of roads.

Related Content

  • The IRF India Regional Conference is seeing its 9th edition this year
    July 7, 2015
    The IRF Geneva said that India has the dubious distinction of claiming the highest number of fatalities by road crashes. More than 10% of road-related deaths occur in India alone, and this poses a serious challenge, being the major killer of young and productive lives. While India’s infrastructure programme is being lauded all over the world and high rate of growth has been achieved for the 1.25 billion strong democracy, a significant 3% of the GDP is lost every year due to the uncontrolled and unmanaged
  • Poor road safety causes too many deaths
    December 13, 2016
    Road safety is an issue that rarely grabs headlines, although it is something that affects people around the globe. Road deaths account for a shockingly high percentage of deaths worldwide, with the risks being particularly high in developing countries. This poses such a threat to public health that the United Nations has been taking steps to address the issue, commencing with its Decade of Action on Road Safety in 2010. The focus has been on developing countries, due to the rapid increase in road deaths in
  • Better road safety can save lives worldwide
    January 24, 2017
    Road safety is an issue that rarely grabs headlines, although it is something that affects people around the globe. Road deaths account for a shockingly high percentage of deaths worldwide, with the risks being particularly high in developing countries. This poses such a threat to public health that the United Nations has been taking steps to address the issue, commencing with its Decade of Action on Road Safety in 2010. The focus has been on developing countries, due to the rapid increase in road deaths in
  • India’s US$1.7 billion Mumbai Coastal Highway
    March 18, 2024
    India’s US$1.7 billion Mumbai Coastal Highway inaugurated