Lok Sabha Question No. 3251 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-12
Subject: Zero Fatality District Programme
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Dr. Sambit Patra

## be pleased to state:

- (a)    whether the Ministry has identified certain districts as "Accidental Death Reduction Districts" under the Zero Fatality District Programme and if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise;
- (b)      the  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to  meet  the  standards prescribed under the Stockholm Declaration regarding road safety; and
- (c)      the  details  of  the  action  plan being implemented to reduce road accidents across the country?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

- (a)     The  Zero  Fatality  DIstrict  (ZFD)  initiative  is  a  strategic  and systemic intervention to eliminate road crash fatalities through a 360degree approach combining engineering, enforcement, emergency care, and  education.  Initially  piloted  in  Nagpur,  this  model  has  now  been expanded nationally and to other State Government agencies. As part of  this  scale-up,  100  critical  districts  have  been  identified  across  15 States for intervention. State-wise number of districts identified for the ZFD programme is at Annexure - I.
- (b) and (c)    The Stockholm Declaration on Road Safety, adopted at the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in February 2020, sets a new global target to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030.  India  is  a  signatory  to  the  Stockholm  Declaration.  Government has formulated a multi-pronged strategy to address the issue of road safety  based  on  4E's  i.e.  Education,  Engineering  (both  of  roads  and vehicles),  Enforcement  and  Emergency  Care.  Accordingly,  various initiatives have been taken for road safety in the country as detailed at Annexure - II.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3251 ANSWERED ON 12 TH  MARCH, 2026

## ZERO FATALITY DISTRICT PROGRAMME

3251.         DR. SAMBIT PATRA:

## Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3251 ANSWERED ON 12TH MARCH, 2026 ASKED BY DR. SAMBIT PATRA REGARDING ZERO FATALITY DISTRICT PROGRAMME.

## State wise Distribution of ZFDs : -

|   S. No | State          |   No of Districts |
|---------|----------------|-------------------|
|       1 | Uttar Pradesh  |                20 |
|       2 | Tamil Nadu     |                19 |
|       3 | Maharashtra    |                11 |
|       4 | Karnataka      |                 9 |
|       5 | Rajasthan      |                 8 |
|       6 | Madhya Pradesh |                 6 |
|       7 | Bihar          |                 6 |
|       8 | Andhra Pradesh |                 6 |
|       9 | Telangana      |                 4 |
|      10 | West Bengal    |                 3 |
|      11 | Punjab         |                 2 |
|      12 | Odisha         |                 2 |
|      13 | Gujarat        |                 2 |
|      14 | Haryana        |                 1 |
|      15 | Chhattisgarh   |                 1 |

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (b)  and  (c) OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3251 ANSWERED ON 12TH MARCH, 2026 ASKED BY DR. SAMBIT PATRA REGARDING ZERO FATALITY DISTRICT PROGRAMME.

Details  of  various  initiatives  taken  by  the  Government  in  Ministry  of Road Transport and Highways for road safety : -

## (1)        Education:

- i.        Administers  a  scheme  for  setting  up  of  Institutes  of  Driving Training & Research (IDTRs), Regional Driving Training Centres (RDTCs) and  Driving  Training  Centres  (DTCs)  at  State/district  level  across  the Country. Recently revised scheme guidelines have been issued, incorporating enhanced financial assistance and streamlined eligibility criteria for establishing Driving Training Institutes. Additionally, incentives  have  been  introduced  for  setting  up  Automated  Testing Stations  (ATS)  in  conjunction  with  Driving  Training  Institutes  (DTIs) under the Training-Testing Cluster approach.
- ii. Administers Road Safety Advocacy Scheme for raising awareness about road safety and for administering road safety programs.
- iii.         Observance  of  National  Road  Safety  Month  every  year  for spreading awareness and strengthening road safety.
- (2)     Engineering :
5. 2.1.    Road engineering:
- i.      Road Safety Audit (RSA) of all National Highways (NHs) has been made mandatory through third party auditors/ experts at all stages i.e. design, construction, operation and maintenance etc.
- ii.    High priority is accorded to identification and rectification of black spots /accident spots on NHs.
- iii.     Road  Safety Officer (RSO) has been designated at each Regional Office of road owning agencies  to look after RSA and other road safety related works.
- iv.     Administers  the  electronic  Detailed  Accident  Report  (e-DAR) Project to establish a central repository for reporting, management and analysis of road accidents data across the Country.
- v.      Issued  guidelines  for  the  provision  of  signages  on  Expressways and National Highways  to offer improved visibility and intuitive guidance to the drivers.
- vi.       Provisions  have  been  made  in  the  Motor  Vehicles  Act,  1988  for failure to comply with standards for the road design, construction and maintenance,  as  prescribed  by  the  Central  Government  from  time  to time.

## 2.2    Vehicle engineering:

Various  initiatives  were  undertaken  to  make  vehicles  safer,  including the following:-

- i.       Mandatory provision of an airbag for the passenger seated on the front seat of a vehicle, next to the driver.
- ii.        Prescribed  norms  related  to  safety  measures for children below four  years  of  age,  riding  or  being  carried  on  a  motor  cycle.  It  also specifies use of a safety harness, crash helmet and restricts speed to 40kmph.
- iii. Mandatory  provisions for fitment of following listed safety technologies: -

For M1 category vehicles:

- a. Seat Belt Reminder (SBR) for driver and co-driver.
- b. Manual Override for central locking system
3. c.
4. a.
5. Over speed warning system.

For all M and N category vehicles:

- Reverse Parking Alert System
- iv.        Mandated Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) for certain classes of L [Motor vehicle with less than four wheels and includes a Quadricycle],  M  [Motor  vehicles  with  at  least  four  wheels  used  for carrying passengers] and N [Motor vehicles with at least four wheels used  for  carrying  goods  which  may  also  carry  persons  in  addition  to goods, subject to conditions stipulated in BIS standards] categories.
- v.     Mandated  speed  limiting  function/speed  limiting  device  in  all transport vehicles, except for two wheelers, three wheelers, quadricycles, fire tenders, ambulances and police vehicles.
- vi.     Published  the  rules  for  recognition,  regulation  and  control  of Automated  Testing  Stations,  which  define  the  procedure  for  fitness testing of vehicles through automated equipment and the procedure for grant  of  fitness  certificate  by  ATSs.  The  rules  have  been  further amended on 31.10.2022 and 14.03.2024.
- vii.   Formulated the Vehicle Scrapping Policy based on incentives/disincentives  and  for  creating  an  ecosystem  to  phase  out  old,  unfit  and polluting vehicles.
- viii. Formulated a Scheme  to set up one model Inspection & Certification  Centre  in  each  State/UT  with  Central  assistance  for testing the fitness of vehicles through an automated system.
- ix.       Published  rules  regarding  the  Bharat  New  Car  Assessment Program (BNCAP) to introduce the concept of safety rating of passenger cars and empower consumers to take informed decisions.
- x.  Published rules regarding prescribed level playing field in the area of manufacturing  of  buses  by  Original  Equipment  Manufacturers  (OEMs) and Bus Body Builders.
- xi.   Mandated  vehicles,  manufactured  on  or  after  1st  October,  2025, shall be fitted with an air-conditioning system for the cabin of vehicles of  N2  (goods  vehicle  with  gross  vehicle  weight  exceeding  3.5  tonnes but  not  exceeding  12.0  tonnes)  and  N3  (goods  vehicle  with  gross vehicle weight exceeding 12.0 tonnes) category.
- xii.     Published rules for revision of standards for Safety Belt, Restraint Systems and Safety Belt Reminder to provide provisions for applicability of revised standards for safety belt assemblies, safety belt anchorages and the installation of Safety Belts and Restraint Systems, in  Motor  vehicles  of  category  M,N  and  L7  w.e.f.  01st  April,  2025. Further, the vehicles of category M1, manufactured on and after the 1st April  2025,  shall  meet  the  requirement  of  safety  belt  reminder  for  all front facing rear seats as per AIS-145-2018.
- xiii.      Published rules for Active safety features in Medium and Heavy Duty  vehicles,  which  provide  for  Braking  System  including  Anti-lock Braking,  Endurance  Braking  System  for  M2,  M3,  N1,  N2,  N3  and Quadricycle (effective for new models from 1st January, 2027 and for existing models from 1st October, 2027), and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) including Vehicle Stability Function (VSF), Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS), Driver Drowsiness and Attention Warning Systems, Blind Spot Information Systems and Moving off Information Systems for M2, M3, N2 and N3 categories of vehicles (effective  for  new  models  from  1st  October,  2027  and  for  existing models from 1st January, 2028).

## (3)        Enforcement:

- i. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment)  Act, 2019 as stands implemented provides for strict penalties for ensuring compliance and enhancing deterrence for violation of traffic rules and strict enforcement through use of technology. Traffic  management and enforcement  is  essentially  in  the  domain  of  State  Governments/UT Administrations. While Central Government formulates rules under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, the enforcement of these rules comes under the purview of State Governments/UT Administrations.
- ii.         Issued rules for Electronic Monitoring and Enforcement of Road Safety.  The  rules  specify  the  detailed  provisions  for  placement  of electronic enforcement devices on high risk & high density corridors on National Highways, State Highways and critical junctions cities having a  population of more than one million in the country and cities under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
- iii.          Government  has  issued  guidelines  for  incentive  to  States  for Implementation  of  Electronic  Enforcement  of  Road  Safety  under  the Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment 202526  (SASCI  2025-26)  with  allocation  of  Rs.  3,000  Crore  (on  first  come first serve basis).
- iv.     On 10th June, 2024, the Government has issued an advisory to all the  States  and  Union  territories  on  technological  interventions  for ensuring compliance with Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.

## (4)        Emergency care:

- i.            Revised  the  scheme  guidelines  (named  as  Rah-Veer)  for  the protection  of  Good  Samaritan,  who  in  good  faith,  voluntarily  and without expectation of any reward or compensation renders emergency medical or non-medical care or assistance at the scene of an accident to  the  victim  or  transports  such  victim  to  the  hospital.  As  per  the scheme,  the  reward  for  Rah-Veer  has  been  increased  to  Rs.  25,000/from Rs. 5,000/-.
- ii.           Enhanced  compensation  of  victims  of  Hit  and  Run  motor accidents (from Rs. 12,500 to Rs. 50,000 for grievous hurt and from Rs. 25,000 to Rs.2,00,000 for death).
- iii.         The  National  Highways  Authority  of  India  has  made  provisions for ambulances with paramedical staff/Emergency Medical Technician/Nurse at toll plazas on the completed corridors of National Highways.
- iv.          Government  in  Ministry  of  Road  Transport  and  Highways  has notified  the  Cashless  Treatment  of  Road  Accident  Victims  Scheme, 2025 on 5th May, 2025. The detailed guidelines including process flow, stakeholder wise standard operating procedures and clearly delineated roles and responsibilities have also been notified on 4th June, 2025.

*****