📰 Conviction rate in human trafficking cases declining
Activists call for robust inter-State investigations
•Twice every week, two women from Basanti in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas, visit a local non-governmental organisation at the subdivision headquarters from their village, seeking details of the investigation in the case relating to their rescue from traffickers. These women in their twenties were rescued four to five years ago, but there has been no conviction of the accused in the cases involving them.
•Details of the conviction of cases involving human trafficking shared in Parliament earlier this month points out that the conviction rate in human trafficking cases has been declining over the past four years. The number of Anti Human Trafficking Units (AHTU) in the country has increased to 696. AHTUs are specialised investigation units with the law enforcement that were created upon the directive of the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2008, by state governments in their respective states.
•The conviction rate of cases related to human trafficking dropped from 27.8% in 2016 to 10.6% in 2020. Between 2018 and 2019 the conviction rate in such cases increased from 19.4% to 22.5%. The data has been sourced from a reply by Minister of State for Home Affairs, Ajay Kumar Mishra to a question in the Rajya Sabha earlier this month.
•Tafteesh, a collective action platform that works towards combating human trafficking also raised the issue of decline in conviction rate of trafficking cases and blamed it to “absence of a strong and robust mechanism to investigate human trafficking cases that often span across state borders leading to acquittal of traffickers across the country”.
•Kaushik Gupta, a lawyer practicing at Calcutta High Court and member of Tafteesh said that low conviction rate is due to the problems and fallacies in the investigation.
•“Though the crime is usually an organised and an interstate one, the investigation is rarely interstate. And since this is a case of circumstantial evidence until and unless the chain of circumstance is shown to be completed, conviction cannot be based on such evidence. Therefore, the low conviction rate is due to the problem and fallacies in investigation,” Mr. Gupta said.
•Advocate Gupta emphasised that survivors of human trafficking are adequately and promptly compensated so that they also find it in their interest to pursue their case and add proper evidence to ensure conviction.
•Subhashree Raptan, an activist from Goranbose Gram Bikas Kendra, a South 24 parganas based organisation working for survivors of trafficking, said that despite orders from Courts, more than a dozen of survivors have not been awarded compensation by the District Legal Service Authorities in the district alone.
•“We have to understand that after their rescue, things don’t miraculously fall in place for survivors. In several cases, the survivors are rescued from other States and interstate investigation falls flat. It is the survivor that has to fight for justice, and compensation is essential for her fight,” Ms. Raptan said.
•The press statement by Tafteesh while referring the answer in Rajya Sabha states that in seven States- Assam, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab- did not witness a single conviction in human trafficking cases in 2020 and all of those cases resulted in acquittals or discharges.
•Pompi Banerjee, a psychologist associated with Tafteesh stressed on the need for more robust interstate investigations that does not solely depend on the testimony of the survivors in order to prosecute the traffickers.
•“The conviction rate will remain low unless India has a comprehensive legislation that provides for a strong investigation mechanism clarifying the roles and responsibilities of investigating agencies such as AHTUs and the NIA (National Investigation Agency). The proposed Trafficking In Persons Bill 2021 is one of the instruments that can really help in addressing all aspects of human trafficking and increasing conviction rate,” Ms. Banerjee added.
Ease of transport key factor for investors to set up businesses: Uddhav Thackeray
•India’s first water taxi service was inaugurated in Maharashtra on Thursday which will connect the Navi Mumbai area to mainland Mumbai. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray inaugurated the Belapur jetty while Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbanand Sonowal flagged off the water taxi.
•The ₹8.37–crore project will presently run on three routes and the State and the Centre have each shared 50% of the expenditure. The three routes include Belapur to Ferry Wharf – the domestic cruise terminal, Belapur to Elephanta Caves and Belapur to JNPT.
•In the initial stage, seven speedboats each with a capacity of 10 to 30 passengers and one catamaran with passenger capacity of around 50 to 60 will run on these routes. The cost per person on a single journey will be between ₹820 to ₹1,200 for speed boats and ₹290 for the catamaran.
•Addressing the event, Mr. Sonowal said the Sagarmala project has offered 131 projects worth ₹1.05 lakh crore for Maharashtra. “Financial aid of ₹278 crore for 46 projects will be offered under the project,” he said.
•The Navi Mumbai area is one of the fastest growing regions on the eastern seafront in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and the location of the jetty is close to the under-construction Navi Mumbai International Airport. The area is already connected to mainland Mumbai by road and local train network.
•“India’s first train ran between Mumbai and Thane and it expanded throughout the country gradually. What happens in Mumbai spreads across the country. Now, we are again the first to launch a water taxi,” said Mr. Thackeray. He said the ease of transport is a key factor for investors to set up businesses in the region and the Maharashtra government is working towards making commuting hassle free for the citizens.
•Mr. Sonowal said the Centre’s Sagarmala project is aimed at providing better facilities to the people in the coastal region. “This water taxi will reduce the travel time and similarly more jetties are being proposed. We will analyse the response of people to this service and further expansion of it will be planned,” he said.
📰 Supreme Court lifts stay on Haryana quota for private jobs
The Haryana High Court order had stayed a controversial State law which provides 75% reservation for local youths in private sector jobs earning less than ₹30,000 a month.
•The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside a Punjab and Haryana High Court order staying a controversial State law which provides 75% reservation for local youths in private sector jobs earning less than ₹30,000 a month.
•Industry associations have said the law “affects the idea of India as an economic unit”.
•A Bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and P.S. Narasimha set aside the February 3 stay order of the High Court on the ground that it did not give “sufficient reasons”.
•The Bench observed that every law passed by legislature was presumed to be legal. An order of stay of their implementation by a court of law should be reasoned. The High Court had not given sufficient reasons for stopping the Haryana law in its tracks on February 3.
•“There should be manifest illegality... This is not the way a statute ought to be dealt with... We are not on the merits, but the way in which the High Court dealt with this,” Justice Rao remarked orally.
•The Supreme Court, without going into the merits of the issue, requested the High Court to decide the writ petition filed by industrialists before it expeditiously and not later than a period of four weeks from today. The parties were directed to not seek adjournments in the High Court.
‘Do not take coercive steps’
•Meanwhile, the top court ordered the State government to not take any “coercive steps” against employers in the highly industrialised State for violating the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act. Industry bodies said in court that the Act impacted 48,000 registered companies by ushering in “inspector raj”.
•An employer faces a fine of ₹ 10,000 to ₹2 lakh for violation of the Act. The statute covers companies, societies, trusts, limited liability partnership firms, partnership firms, and large individual employers. Many hire talents from outside Haryana.
•Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for Faridabad Industries Association, opposed the Haryana government’s appeal against the High Court stay.
•“Reservation in private sector has no basis in the Constitution. The law impacts not only employment but the very existence of livelihood. There was no empirical study done, no data whatsoever to justify this law. Entry 24 of the Concurrent List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution does not back this law. What is the presumption of constitutionality which this law provides,” Mr. Dave asked.
•He submitted that the continuation of the law’s implementation, which came into effect in January 2022, would have far-reaching effects, not only in Haryana, but across India as it would not stop other States from enacting similar laws which exclude jobs to residents of other States.
•“Everybody will be affected... Even law firms,” Mr. Dave said.
•He said if the Supreme Court felt that the High Court needed to give reasons to maintain the February 3 order, the High Court could be asked to decide the writ petition pending before it finally. Mr. Dave said questions on the validity of the law required immediate litigation and a quick decision.
‘Drastic Act’
•Senior advocate Shyam Diwan, for Manesar Industrial Welfare Association, said the law had a “profound impact on ongoing businesses” and required day-to-day hearing. “This is a drastic Act,” he submitted.
•Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for Haryana, said the stay order of the High Court was passed without application of mind.
•“There is a presumption of legality in favour of a law and it is ordinarily not stayed unless the legislation is prima facie unconstitutional or illegal... There was no reason given by the HC for staying the legislation,” Mr. Mehta argued.
•He referred to the need “to regulate migrants from settling elsewhere”.
•“Firstly, we are concerned about livelihood... The livelihood of everyone,” Justice Rao reacted.
•Mr. Mehta said States, including Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra, had implemented similar laws. He requested the Supreme Court to examine the validity of the laws in all these States and deliver an authoritative decision on their validity.
•But the top court left it to the Punjab and Haryana High Court to decide the case finally, assuring that it had meanwhile “protected those working”.
📰 Vizag to come under a heavy security blanket for Presidential Fleet Review, Milan-2022
Over 5,000 security personnel will be deployed to ensure that the events pass off without incident
•The city will come under a heavy security cover from February 20 to March 5, as two major events of the Indian Navy- the Presidential Fleet Review (PFR) and Milan-2022, will be held during this period.
•Over 5,000 security personnel are being deployed, especially to handle the PFR on February 21 and the city parade of Milan, which is scheduled for February 27, on Beach Road.
•About 3,500 personnel are being brought from other districts and will comprise men from various wings such as the Civil Police, Armed Reserve and anti-terrorists forces such as the AP Special Police, the Greyhounds and the Octopus. This apart, central security forces such as the NSG (National Security Guards), ITBP and the Marine Commandos (Marcos) of the Navy, will also be part of the security cover.
High-level delegation
•While President Ram Nath Kovind, who is also the supreme commander of the armed forces, will attend the PFR, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, some Ministers in the State Cabinet, senior bureaucrats and high-ranking officers from the three wings of the armed forces will also be in attendance.
•For Milan, apart from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, it is expected that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, senior bureaucrats and 150 high-ranking officers from the participating countries will be present.
•“We cannot leave any stone unturned in terms of security, as it is big event not only for the Indian Navy, but also for the city, State and the country,” Commissioner of Police Manish Kumar Sinha said.
•As per conservative estimates, two lakh people are expected to throng the Beach Road stretch from Naval Coastal Battery to The Park Hotel, where the city parade will be held. An operations demo is on the cards, as part of Milan, on the evening of February 27.
•During IFR, managing crowd and traffic, both before and after the event, was the biggest challenge and we are working on these aspects, the Commissioner said.
Committees formed
•Five committees have been formed to handle various aspects such as law and order, traffic, convoy and security, intelligence gathering and communication.
•It is learnt that at least two DIG-rank officers and three SPs are being brought from other districts to oversee both events. This apart, a number of inspectors, sub-inspectors and DSP-rank officers from other districts will also be roped in.
•It is learnt that there will be at least nine to 10 enclosures to accommodate close to 5,000 guests, while 32 enclosures are being planned for the general public.
•The public enclosures will be set up on the beach area and each enclosure will be barricaded. Around 14 to 16 routes have been finalised to allow the public into the event area from NCB to YMCA. This apart, arrangements are being made to install big LED screens on Beach Road and near the enclosures, to enable people to view the proceedings.
•About 400 CCTV cameras are being installed along the VVIP route and on the Beach Road, and the entire network will be hooked to the main command control centre, which will be led by at least two ACP-rank officers.
•Around 15 to 18 Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) with 10 men in each team and 14 to 15 SWAT teams with eight men in each, will be deployed during the event days. A 400+ strong bomb disposal team and over 450 armed policemen, armed with 25 sniffer dogs, are being deployed.
•All access points will be manned by armed police and people have to pass through door frame metal detectors and hand-held metal detectors. Over 500 communication sets with 400 handheld VHF sets are being pressed into service..
📰 A planetary adjustment: On India’s clean energy priorities
India must prioritise the transition to energy sources that do not upset the natural balance
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in perhaps his first address this year on the theme of the environment, remarked that it was not the planet that was “fragile”, but people and their commitment to conserving nature. From James Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis — that posited the inter-connectedness of nature — to Nobel Laureate Paul Crutzen, who warned that chemical effluents were altering the planet’s atmosphere and causing harmful climate change feedback effects, many have made the case that humanity is in the Anthropocene era and is like a geological force that is shaping the planet’s destiny. However, this gives the distorted sense that it is a vaguely defined ‘planet’ that needs protecting, a notion reinforced by apocalyptic documentaries on melting glaciers.
•The truth is more complex. Man’s embrace of agriculture, the dominance of wheat and rice as food crops and the clearing of forest tracts caused the first major large-scale changes to global climate though their effects were apparent only over centuries. Atmospheric changes due to the dawn of the Industrial Age and the use of fossil fuels happened, relatively speaking, in a blink of an eye. What is common to both these eras is that those who suffered the most are the poor, or those with the least agency to shield themselves from a perturbed nature. Last year, Uttarakhand saw an avalanche of rock and ice destroy two hydropower projects and cause deaths. The geology of the Himalayas, scientists have long warned, makes the region inhospitable to large mega-engineering projects and the several floods, landslides and earthquakes over the years have underlined this time and again. But while the earth rearranges itself, it does so in a manner that can be destructive and lethal to those least responsible for causing the disequilibrium. Thus, if “fragile” were to mean a brittleness needing care, then it is people and animals that need protection than a vaguely defined ‘planet’. India’s position of climate justice is that it cannot be denied the right to rely on polluting fossil fuel to ameliorate the living conditions of most Indians who have limited access to reliable energy. Thus, India will continue to fire coal plants, raze forests for industry and build roads in fraught geology — in other words, put the lives of millions of the vulnerable at climate-risk in the pursuit of economic development. India’s commitment to net-zero is set decades into the future at 2070. Unknown unknowns characterise climate science and India, given its size and population, will be disproportionately vulnerable. It must accelerate and prioritise the transition to energy sources that are minimally perturbing to the natural balance because — and on this the science is certain — the planet, which may be in a form incomprehensible at present, will long outlast its current residents.
📰 Etching a trade line to bond beyond oil
An India-UAE free trade agreement will enable two-way investment flows and help achieve ambitious export targets
•India has embarked on a new journey — a new free trade agreement (FTA) journey to be precise — with renewed zeal and vigour. India’s approach towards FTAs is now focusing more on gaining meaningful market access and facilitating Indian industry’s integration into global value chains. As Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal has repeatedly emphasised, India would no longer be signing trade agreements just to join a group, but the new approach of FTA negotiations would respond to the need of new emerging dynamics in international trade and the Indian economy.
Focus countries
•Under the revamped FTA strategy, the Government of India has prioritised at least six countries or regions to deal with, in which the United Arab Emirates (UAE) figures at the top of the list for an early harvest deal; the others are the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, Canada, Israel and a group of countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The early harvest deal is to be enlarged into a comprehensive FTA in due course of time. This is a very welcome move, where the Government of India can be seen actively revisiting pending FTAs, entering into fresh negotiations and also being open to interim and mini-trade deals.
•At the same time, the UAE too announced, in September 2021, its intent to pursue bilateral economic agreements with eight countries — India, the U.K., Turkey, South Korea, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Israel, and Kenya — with the goal of concluding these agreements within one year.
Major economic hub
•The UAE has emerged as an important economic hub not just within the context of the Middle East/West Asia, but also globally. The UAE, due to its strategic location, has emerged as an important economic centre in the world. In recent years, the UAE, through its ‘Vision 2021’, has sought to diversify its economy and reduce its dependency on oil. Since 2012, growth has been led, according to a World Trade Organization document, by the non-hydrocarbon sectors reflecting the successful diversification of the economy. Although the UAE has diversified its economy, ‘the hydrocarbon sector remains very important followed by services and manufacturing. Within services, financial services, wholesale and retail trade, and real estate and business services are the main contributors’.
•India and the UAE established diplomatic relations in 1972. The greater push has been achieved in bilateral relations when the visit of the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to the UAE in August 2015 marked the beginning of a new strategic partnership between the two countries. Further, during the visit of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to India in January 2017 as the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations, it was agreed that bilateral relations were to be upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership. This gave momentum to launching negotiations for an India-UAE comprehensive economic partnership agreement, eventually launched in September 2021.
Trade and investment data
•As India and the UAE strive to further deepen trade and investment ties, the soon-to-be announced early harvest agreement comes at the most opportune time. The India-UAE total trade merchandise has been valued at U.S.$52.76 billion for the first nine months of the fiscal year 2021-22, making the UAE India’s third largest trading partner. The aim is to boost bilateral merchandise trade to above U.S.$100 billion and services trade to U.S.$15 billion in five years.
•With India’s newfound strength in exports as the country is on the verge of creating history by reaching the figure of U.S.$400 billion of merchandise export, a trade agreement with an important country such as the UAE would help sustain the growth momentum. As we are witnessing a big turnaround in manufacturing, the UAE would be an attractive export market for Indian electronics, automobiles, and other engineering products.
•A trade agreement is also an enabler for two-way investment flows. The UAE’s investment in India is estimated to be around U.S.$11.67 billion, which makes it the ninth biggest investor in India. On the other hand, many Indian companies have set up manufacturing units either as joint ventures or in Special Economic Zones for cement, building materials, textiles, engineering products, consumer electronics, etc. Many Indian companies have also invested in the tourism, hospitality, catering, health, retail, and education sectors. As both the UAE and India are aggressively pursuing FTAs with several important countries, not only companies from these two countries but also multinational companies from other geographies too would find the UAE and India an attractive market to invest.
As an export springboard
•India is aiming to achieve the U.S.$1 trillion of merchandise exports and U.S.$1 trillion of services exports by the year 2030. A trade agreement with the UAE could well be a springboard to realise these ambitious export targets. The UAE is a party to several regional and bilateral FTAs, including with countries in the GCC.
•As part of the GCC, the UAE has strong economic ties with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, meaning the UAE shares a common market and a customs union with these nations. Under the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) Agreement, the UAE has free trade access to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Palestine, Syria, Libya, and Yemen.
•This FTA with the UAE will pave the way for India to enter the UAE’s strategic location, and have relatively easy access to the Africa market and its various trade partners which can help India to become a part of that supply chain especially in handlooms, handicrafts, textiles and pharma.
On compliance requirements
•The UAE tariff structure is bound with the GCC, and the applied average tariff rate is 5%. Therefore, the scope of addressing Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) becomes very important. The reflection of NTBs can be seen through Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) which have mostly been covered by Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). The UAE has 451 SPS notifications. The SPS notifications are mainly related to live poultry, meat, and processed food. In addition, the UAE has 534 TBT notifications, mainly related to fish, food additives, meat, rubber, electrical machinery, etc. Most of the notifications are related to consumer information, labelling, licensing or permit requirements and import monitoring and surveillance requirements. These compliances pose a challenge for Indian exporters. The FTA agreement must try to bring more transparency and predictability in the use of NTBs so that their compliance becomes less cumbersome.
📰 India has still to get a good grip on road safety
The Centre and States need to be on the same page in improving and strengthening safety plans and infrastructure
•Last year, while inaugurating a webinar on ‘Vehicle Crashes and Road Safety’, organised by the MIT Art Design and Technology (ADT) University, Pune, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari remarked that “the target is to reduce 50% of road accidents by 2025”, adding that “we can achieve zero deaths due to road accidents by 2030”. He said that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had participated in a conference in Sweden in 2020 — the Third High Level Global Conference on Road Safety for Achieving Global Goals 2030’ — where it was conceptualised to have zero road fatalities in India by 2030. Therefore, there was a need to expedite the task of saving lives in accidents.
•Though it is essential to remain focused in this approach and be optimistic while fixing targets, the past record of road accidents and available infrastructure to deal with road safety measures in India should not be lost sight of, particularly when the enforcement of motor vehicle-related laws is primarily the responsibility of the States.
In numbers
•Where do we stand vis-à-vis last decade’s target? In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly, after considering the alarming situation of road accidents fatalities, adopted the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 aimed at reducing fatalities in road accidents by 50% by the year 2020, and was accepted by much of the world including India. Though a number of steps have been taken in the last decade to check road accidents, statistics published by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways show that the number of deaths in road accidents increased from 1,42,485 in 2011 to 1,51,113 in 2019. The Ministry is yet to publish its data for the year 2020, but the annual publication of the National Crime Records Bureau, titled Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India (2020) shows that 1,33,201 deaths were recorded in 2020. This reduction of accidents in 2020 was primarily due to the various lockdowns which were in force during the first wave of COVID-19, when only a limited number of motor vehicles were on the roads. However, the fatality (that is a number of deaths per 100 accidents) which was 26.9 in 2001, continued to rise from 28.63 in 2011 to 37.54 in 2020. Thus, it is evident that despite setting a target of a 50% reduction in accidental deaths, the fatalities from road accidents actually increased in the last decade.
Court interventions
•The Supreme Court of India while hearing a petition filed by Dr. S. Rajaseekaran, an orthopaedic surgeon and then President of the Indian Orthopaedic Association (WP (Civil) No. 295 of 2012), on road safety, passed an order to constitute a ‘Committee on Road Safety’ under the chairmanship of Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan, which was notified by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on May 30, 2014. The Court on November 30, 2017, issued a number of directives with regard to road safety that, inter alia, included the constitution of a State Road Safety Council, establishment of lead agency, the setting up of road safety fund, notification of a road safety action plan, the constitution of a district road safety committee, engineering improvements, the identification and rectification of black spots, the adoption of traffic calming measures, conducting road safety audits, the acquisition of road safety equipment, the establishment of trauma care centres and the inclusion of road safety education in the academic curriculum of schools. Though the Committee on Road Safety followed up every directive of the Court with States and helped in improving the overall road safety scenario, there is many a slip between the cup and the lip.
The ground reality
•The Motor Vehicles (MV) Act of 1988 was partially amended in August 2019, and some of the amended and new sections which made traffic violations more stringent, came into effect from September 1, 2019. However, most States did not increase the corresponding compounding traffic violations fee. This increase was criticised and people protested on the pretext that the (fine) paying capacity of the average Indian was still limited. Also, only a few cases of traffic violations are contested by the accused in a court of law. Therefore, the expected impact of the deterrent provisions of the amended law could not be realised on ground.
•Second, the enforcement manpower that is available is insufficient to deal with the steadily increasing volume of traffic. The automation of processes is still in its infancy and limited to large cities. The number of ‘hit and run’ cases may decrease if the ‘Intelligent Traffic Management System’ is implemented on highways and other major roads. The Bureau of Police Research and Development has suggested a formula to calculate the number of traffic policemen required in any district. It is largely based on the number of registered motor vehicles in any district. Similar ideas were suggested for traffic equipment requirements also. However, the actual enforcement staff and equipment (due to a limited road safety fund or other funds at the disposal of the police) are insufficient to effectively check traffic violations.
•Third, there are inadequate funds for the rectification of black spots and the undertaking of traffic calming measures. Though more than 60% road accidents reportedly take place because of over-speeding, ‘speed limit’ sign boards are rarely seen or found even on State highways and major roads.
•Fourth, most drivers, conductors, and other staff in transport companies (except for government corporations) do not get benefits of the organised sector. They draw a meagre salary, usually do not have a weekly off and are most often forced to work overtime. Therefore, unless their service conditions are improved, their attitude towards road safety cannot be expected to be above board.
Unsafe roads
•Fifth — and perhaps the most challenging task — is to improve the driving skills of drivers and change the casual attitude of other road users towards road safety. Even today, getting a driving licence is not a difficult task. There is no standard written and rigorous practical test. Many States do not have test driving tracks. There are no institutes for refresher training if a driving licence of a person is suspended. Though the amended Motor Vehicles Act has certain provisions in this regard, they have yet to come into force.
•It has been observed that about two-thirds of victims of road fatalities are two-wheeler drivers and pillion riders, but there is not enough emphasis being given to them. Though the wearing of safety headgear is mandatory, it is not enforced strictly in all States due to a lack of strong will. Even an amended provision that relates to ‘Offences by Juveniles’ is not enforced strictly. The Emergency Response Support System (ERSS), with its pan-India emergency response number, 112, has proved very useful in saving the lives of accident victims in the golden hour, but this scheme has not been implemented evenly across States.
Better data collection
•The accident data collection format of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and now a part of the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) of the police, is quite cumbersome (it requires about 60 fields to be filled up). This process of data collection is quite time consuming but it is essential to identify the true cause of an accident and take remedial measures. Similarly, the main objective of the recent iRAD (Integrated Road Accident Database) Project, an initiative of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, funded by the World Bank, and under implementation, is to enrich the accident database and improve road safety in the country by collecting data from different stakeholders using the iRAD mobile and web application. Hopefully, the integration of these projects will bring some synergy and make the data collection procedure more user-friendly.
•A number of steps have been taken by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and States to improve the road safety scenario in the country. Lives cannot be lost at the cost of poor enforcement of traffic laws. However, unless the States and the Centre are on the same page in improving and strengthening the infrastructure of States by enabling more funds, merely and only fixing targets will not be a pragmatic approach to reduce road accident fatalities.
