1 October 2019: A one day workshop on IndiaRAP was held at the Asian Institute of Transport Development (AITD), New Dehli.
The main purpose of the workshop was to disseminate the activities of IndiaRAP to various stakeholders in the Government Departments and other organisations including Research Institutes and Academia. The focus was also on preparing a framework for achieving the UN Global Road Safety Targets, particularly the goal of SDG 3.6 of halving the number global deaths and injuries. A tentative formation of the IndiaRAP Steering Committee was also discussed.
The workshop began with the opening remarks of from the AITD Director Mr B N Puri, followed by a guest speaker Mr Matthew Davies, Managing Director of Sales for FedEx Express in India.
The Guest of Honour Mr S K Nirmal, Secretary General of the Indian Roads Congress, and Chief Guest Mr R K Pandey, Member (Projects) from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) also addressed participants of the event. They both emphasised the need of more rigorous work for the Road Safety in India and praised the role of IndiaRAP for executing the Star Rating projects in various parts of the country.
The workshop participants were provided a variety of different technical presentations;
- Star ratings on World Bank projects in India – Krishnan Srinivasan, Consultant, World Bank
- Safe Corridor Demonstration Program (SCDP) Corridor Under Gujarat State HighwayProject-II – D K Solanki, SE, Project Implementation Unit, Roads and Buildings Department (Gujarat) India
- Kerala State Transport Project Overview – M Ansar, SE KSTP, Kerala Public Works Department
- IndiaRAP safety assessments of National Highways and State Highways – Jigesh Bhavsar, Technical Manager IndiaRAP
- Case Study: Country based road Assessment Programmes and Star Rating for Schools – Greg Smith, Managing Director Strategic Projects, iRAP.
The afternoon sessions saw more of panel discussions, how to use iRAP free to air tools to help saves lives in India, and the formation of the IndiaRAP Steering Committee.
Positive outcomes from the workshop included:
- IndiaRAP is in touch with Indian Roads Congress (IRC) for inclusion of the Star Rating approach in the proposed Road Safety Audit certification course designed by the IRC.
- The success story of Star rating approach in Karnataka and Gujarat should be replicated in other states as well.
- More collaborative approaches with other stakeholders, particularly in the Government would be useful for carrying out the star rating of India roads, including knowledge sharing and capacity building.
Want more information on IndiaRAP’s progress?
- Download an Introduction to IndiaRAP brochure here
- Read ‘World Bank and Government Success Across India’ article here
- Read iRAP’s paper in the 89th Edition of the UNESCAP Transport and Communications Bulletin – Improving Road Safety ‘Star Rating for life-saving road improvements in India’