India: A lower-middle income country with a population of 1.4 billion. In 2021, the estimated rate per 100 000 population was 15.4 (WHO, 2023). India has acceded to 2 out of 7 UN road safety legal instruments.
During the mission, the Special Envoy met with the following to advocate for safer roads and explore future collaborations in Mumbai:
• UNICEF team;
• Ms. Pankhuri Jain and Mr. Pradeep Patange, Youth representatives.
• The Special Envoy also attended an event organized by Tata Motors, participated in the inaugural session of the Tata Group Road Safety Hackathon and met with the following representatives:
o Mr. Ratan Tata;
o Mr. Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd & Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd.;
o Mr. Harish Bhat, President and Brand Custodian, Tata Sons;
o Mr. Girish Wagh, Executive Director, Tata Motors;
o Mr. SJR Kutty, Chief Sustainability Officer, Tata Motors;
o Mr. Sushant Naik, Global Head, Government & Public Affairs, Tata Motors and Chair Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturers’ Electric Mobility Group.
The Special Envoy joined the road safety event organized by Sanofi in the context of the partnership between the company and the Special Envoy. The aim was also to sign the “Eco, Sustainability, and Road Safety Responsibility Pledge”. With over 600 Sanofi participants online, discussions on the road safety situation in the country and opportunities to address this significant development challenge were held.
Lastly, the Special Envoy visited the trauma center Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College.
In New Delhi, the Special Envoy met with the following officials to advocate for safer roads and explore future collaborations:
• H.E. Mr. Gadkhari Minister for Road Transport & Highways, India;
• Mr. Amitabh Kant, India's G20 Sherpa and Mr. Abhinav Balyan, President, Chamber of Commerce, India;
• H.E. Mr. Hervé Delphin, Ambassador-designate of the EU to India and Bhutan;
• H.E. Mr. Thierry Mathou, Ambassador of France in India, who kindly organized a meeting on the occasion of the Special Envoy’s visit;
• Mr. Rajeev Kapur, Managing Director, Steelbird Hi-Tech India Limited;
• Ms. Andrea Wojnar, Resident Coordinator a.i., and UNFPA Representative for India and Bhutan and UNCT;
• Road safety NGOs’ representatives.
The Special Envoy also visited the trauma All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Control Room of the Delhi Traffic Police Department.