Independent consultants and specialized agencies were invited to carry out state audits throughout the Indian 146 195 km of the National Network, said two officials who acquainted this matter.
The aim is to identify high -risk zones in which safety measures have not been implemented and detect any new development that has been more dangerous sections.
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Pressure comes in the middle of the persistent public pressure and gloomy official data. India recorded almost 480,000 traffic accidents in 2023, leading to 180,000 deaths and approximately 400,000 serious injuries. This represents more than 20 deaths every hour and, according to the Minister of Road Transport and Motorway Motorway, Gadkari, 3% of Economic Loss of HDP.
For comparison, China recorded less than 61,000 road deaths in 2023, according to statista, although it had a significantly larger road network.
While the national highway accounts for only 2% of the total Indian road network, they transport more than 40% of all loads and a significant share of personal traffic. They also represent more than 30% of traffic accidents, more than any other road categories, including state motorways.
One of the officials said that the audit was now rapidly monitored by the invitation of consultants and specialized agencies to capture the state of the audit work status by the state and to complete the entire exercise in mid -July so that government agencies could initiate rectification work on the recommendation of audits at the earliest.
According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Motorway (Morth), the road safety audits are third-party experts at each stage of compulsory-construction, construction, operation and maintenance. But with the deaths that are still rising, the ministry compresses the timelines: the auditors will only receive 25 days to perform an assessment and another 20 to present their reports.
Each audit will include a kilometer-by-kilometer inspection, day and night analysis, local questions, topographic surveys, data collection from police accidents and geo-space mapping. Security concerns must be marked on each section, and the ministry stated to the extent of the completed work for the auditors to remedial options.
The audit initiative is part of a wider national pressure to make Indian highways safer.
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According to its annual report 2024–25, the Ministry identified 13,795 black places susceptible to accidents to be determined next year. Of these, 4,777 were permanently corrected since December 2024. The remaining places underline the range of the challenge.
Morth did not answer the comment.
Beyond black spots
“Indian national highways … carry disproportionately large volumes of operation … However, this high use also correlates with a higher incidence of traffic accidents and death,” said Saket Mehra, partner, Grant Thornton Bharat.
Some experts argue that the country’s road safety strategy must exceed audits and engineering repairs.
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According to Chandan Chowdhura from the Indian School of Business in India, it requires a bold strategy from roads to railways, inland waters and coastal transports and coastal transports and coastal transports and coastal transports and coastal transport and coastal transport and coastal transport and coastal transport and coastal transport. “AI (artificial intelligence) and the Internet of Things (IoT) must be deployed for speed recovery, vehicle monitoring and prevention of predictive accidents. Advanced driver assistance systems should be compulsory in commercial vehicles.
He also added stronger enforcement of law and better education of drivers, along with constant improvement in the construction and maintenance of roads.
“Holistic strategy-takova is required to combine infrastructure upgrades, technology enforcement and improved driver education,” said Shailesh Agarwal, Ey’s Infrastructure Risk Consulting Practice.
In its report, the ministry stated that traffic accidents were “more causal”, which requires joint efforts across central and state agencies. His current strategy is based on four pillars: education, engineering (both roads and vehicles), enforcement and emergency care.
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Morth also worked with the National Health Authority to pilot the cashless emergency treatment of the victims of traffic accidents. Within the program, currently functional in Chandigarh, Puduchherry and Selected States, the victims are entitled to up to £1.5 Lakh for treatment for an accident during a seven -day period. The government plans to introduce this system at the coming months in the coming months, the officials said.
(Tagstotranslate) Road Accidents India 2025 (T) National Highway Audit (T) Black Spots Highways (T) Road Safety India (T) Morth Audit (T) Traffic Fatalits India (T) India Road Infrastructure (T) Nitin Road Safety Data
