Kia India Expands 'Buckle Up' Road Safety Initiative to Colleges Across Two States

Kia India has launched the second phase of its 'Buckle Up' road safety initiative, signing a Memorandum of Understanding with The Social Lab (TSL) Foundation to scale the programme across Delhi-NCR and Uttarakhand through March 2028. The inauguration took place at Transport Bhawan, New Delhi, in the presence of Shri Ajay Tamta, Minister of State, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

Phase I of the programme, which ran from February 2024 to February 2026, was conducted in partnership with the Gurugram Traffic Police. During this period, Kia India facilitated the installation of 750 crash barriers across high-risk road stretches in Gurugram and delivered road safety education to nearly 32,000 students across 100 schools.

Phase II expands both the geographic scope and the target demographic. The programme will now engage approximately 20,000 students across 100 colleges through advanced driving simulators and structured experiential learning modules aimed at helping young and first-time drivers understand real-world road risks. Additional crash barriers are planned for high-risk zones in Gurgaon and along the Delhi-Uttarakhand highway, complemented by awareness campaigns across online and on-ground platforms.

Speaking at the MoU signing, Shri Ajay Tamta underlined the importance of sustained collaboration between the private sector and government bodies in reducing road fatalities and advancing national safety awareness goals.

Apoorva Sharma, Executive Director of TSL Foundation, noted that Phase I established a strong operational foundation, and that Phase II would build on those learnings to extend the programme's reach across new geographies and older age groups.

The 'Buckle Up' initiative is part of Kia India's broader corporate social responsibility framework, positioning road safety as an area of long-term investment alongside its vehicle operations. The company currently operates a manufacturing facility in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, and has recorded over 1.2 million domestic vehicle sales to date.