Enhancing Road Safety: Modi Govt To Improve Measures To Ensure 50 Per Cent Fall In Road Accidents By 2025

While inaugurating the first National Road Safety Month on Monday, Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said that the Union government is undertaking efforts with an aim to reduce road accidents and deaths by half before 2025, reports Hindustan Times.

The first-ever National Road Safety Month was inaugurated to build awareness about road safety and reduce road accidents in India. Earlier a road safety week was being organized, but considering the importance of the issue, a month-long program has been made this year.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister Gadkari informed that in India, a total of 1.5 lakh people died, while more than 4.5 lakh people got injured in road accidents every year, resulting in social-economic losses from accident deaths equivalent to a shocking 3.14 per cent of GDP every year.

"If we wait till 2030, six to seven lakh more people will die. So, we have made a commitment that before 2025, road accidents and deaths due to it will be brought down by 50 per cent with help of people's participation," Nitin Gadkari said while inaugurating the event at Vigyan Bhawan.

According to the United Nations’ Brasilia Declaration with the target of reducing road fatalities by 50 per cent by 2020. India became a signatory of it in November 2015.