The National Road Safety Board under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has received the nod from the Finance Ministry’s Department of Expenditure.
This is a very important development in the government’s drive to bring down road fatalities in the country. With just 1% of the vehicle population of the world, India accounts for 11% of deaths in road accidents.
The National Road Safety Board will act as an advisory body that will be responsible for promoting road safety, innovation and adoption of new technology and for regulating traffic and motor vehicles.
It will also chart out the standards of design, weight, construction, manufacturing process, operation and maintenance, recall of motor vehicles and of safety equipment. Moreover, the board will also oversee the registration and licensing of motor vehicles and the formulation of standards for road safety, road infrastructure and control of traffic.
Stakeholders like SIAM, ACMA, FADA, FICCI and CII will now have an apex body, with whom they can discuss issues related to road safety.
On the establishment of the National Road Safety Board, Rama Shankar Pandey, Chairman, Road Safety Sub-Committee, FICCI said, “This is the first step. India should have done this earlier. In a way, it should become like the GST council we have today. The Finance Ministry’s approval is good news for us.”
“I believe our honourable MoRTH Minister Nitin Gadkari will strengthen the board so much that it will work like a GST council,” he added.
Earlier there was a small team working for road safety. But with the formation of the board, it will have three to seven members headed by a Chairman, who must have held the post of Secretary or its equivalent to the Government of India. Similarly, any member must have held the post of Additional Secretary or its equivalent, to the Government of India.
The National Road Safety Board will also have technical members who will work on the comprehensive plan. “We believe that work on road safety will be speed-up with this new body,” Pandey added.