The United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF) has launched the Sustainable Road Safety Financing Project in India in partnership with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and the Save LIFE Foundation. The project identifies four pilot states — Rajasthan, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Assam — where institutional frameworks for sustainable road accident prevention financing will be built and tested.
India faces a severe road safety crisis. According to official data, approximately 1.7 lakh people die in road accidents every year in India, making it one of the highest road accident mortality rates in the world. The economic cost is staggering: road crashes drain nearly 3% of India's GDP annually, estimated at several lakh crore rupees. Despite improvements in infrastructure, human behaviour, enforcement gaps, and inadequate emergency response continue to drive fatalities.
The UNRSF project aims to address the structural financing gap in road safety. While India has policies and laws (Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019, National Road Safety Policy), sustained implementation requires dedicated, institutionalised funding streams. The project will work with state governments to design financing models — including user fees, accident cess, and public-private partnerships — that generate predictable revenue for road safety programmes.
Rajasthan's inclusion is significant given its vast road network spanning deserts, highways, and rural areas. National Highway 48 (Delhi–Mumbai expressway corridor), NH 27, and state highways witness high accident rates due to speeding, fog, and inadequate signage. The state also reports high numbers of fatalities involving two-wheelers and pedestrians in rural areas.
The project aligns with the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030, which targets a 50% reduction in road traffic deaths globally. India is a signatory to the Stockholm Declaration on Road Safety (2020). Key stakeholders include NITI Aayog, state road safety councils, and district-level transport authorities.