STATE SUPPORT PROGRAMME FOR ROAD SAFETY

Related Articles

SOUTH CHINA SEA

September 30, 2023

Forced labour and modern-day slavery

September 28, 2023

India and Ukraine

September 27, 2023

• The World Bank has approved a USD 250 million loan for India State Support Program for Road Safety for seven States under which a single accident reporting number will be set up to better manage post-crash events.
• It was created in 1944, as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) along with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IBRD later became the World Bank.
• The World Bank Group is a unique global partnership of five institutions working for sustainable solutions that reduce poverty and build shared prosperity in developing countries.

Members:

• It has 189 member countries.
• India is also a member country.

Its Five Development Institutions:

1. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
2. International Development Association (IDA)
3. International Finance Corporation (IFC).
4. Multilateral Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
5. International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

India is not a member of this.

Key Highlights of the Program

• The project will establish a national harmonised crash database system in order to analyse accidents and use that to construct better and safer roads.
• The USD 250 million variable spread loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a maturity of 18 years including a grace period of 5.5 years.
• It will be implemented in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
• It aims to fund network expansion of basic and advanced life support ambulances and training of first responder caregivers to road crash victims on the spot.
• The project will also provide incentives to the States to leverage private funding through Public Private Partnership (PPP)concessions and pilot initiatives.
• Women face the indirect brunt of road accidents. Recognising this challenge, the project has a special focus on gender and will promote women’s representation in management roles in the road safety sector.
• The project will also provide employment opportunities for women especially, in post-crash care command and control centers.

Scenario of Road Accidents in India

• Road crashes are estimated to cost the Indian economy between 5% to 7% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) a year.
• Official government data show that each year road accidents in India kill about 1,50,000 people and injure another 4,50,000.
• More than half of the victims are pedestrians, cyclists, or motorcyclists and almost 84% of all fatalities are among road users between the working ages of 18-60 years.
• Poor households that account for over 70% of crash victims bear a higher proportion of the socio-economic burden of road crashes due to loss of income, high medical expenses and limited access to social safety nets.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT