SAFE Annual Convention Highlights Road Safety and Sustainable Transport

The Society for Automotive Fitness & Environment (SAFE), an initiative of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), held its 26th Annual Convention in New Delhi to discuss road safety, traffic discipline, and sustainable transport. The event, under SIAM’s Safe Journey initiative, was themed “Together for Safe Roads and Green Mobility: Building a Sustainable India.”

The convention was attended by policymakers, industry leaders, and experts. Chief Minister of Delhi, Smt. Rekha Gupta, participated as the Chief Guest, while Sardar Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Delhi’s Minister for Environment, Forest & Wildlife, Industries, Food & Supplies, was the Guest of Honour.

In her address, Chief Minister Gupta stressed the importance of behavioural change to reduce accidents and said Delhi aims to have one in three vehicles electric, with full electrification of public transport by 2026. She also launched SIAM’s SAFE Road Safety Context Paper and a new initiative to engage students on road safety.

Minister Sirsa underlined the role of sustainability in India’s development goals and noted the need for collective responsibility in advancing road safety and green mobility.

During the sessions, officials and experts highlighted challenges such as rising accident cases and stressed the role of stricter enforcement, emergency response, and technology adoption. Mr. Mahmood Ahmed, Additional Secretary, MoRTH, emphasized the importance of integrating road safety databases with licensing and registration systems. The Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety also called for stronger use of digital enforcement systems.

Industry representatives reiterated the role of design, engineering, and awareness in reducing accidents. SIAM’s leadership pointed out that over 1.7 lakh lives are lost annually on Indian roads and urged joint action by government, industry, and citizens.

Two plenary sessions covered the themes of education and engineering for safer roads, and enforcement, emergency care, and evaluation for reducing accidents.

Kartick V Nagpal, President, Rosmerta Technologies, said, "From delivering over 150 Million High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) to running Automated Driving Testing Tracks (ADTT) across Delhi and operating India’s largest network of Automated Testing Stations (ATS), Rosmerta strongly believes these are not just compliance; they are innovations that bring transparency, accountability and life-saving enforcement on the ground. The goal is to align the 5Es of MoRTH that is Engineering, Education, Enforcement, Emergency Care and Evaluation.

We believe that the collaboration between SIAM and the Delhi Government is driving India closer to safer roads. At Rosmerta, we remain committed to supporting this mission by building technologies that strengthen the ecosystem and make every journey on Indian road safer."

SAFE and SIAM continue to support the shift to sustainable transport through measures including electric mobility, ethanol use, recycling, gas-based mobility, and development of hydrogen fuel infrastructure.