New Delhi: Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said the government is working on a graded points system for driving licences and vehicle registration as part of efforts to improve road safety in the country.
Addressing the 66th SIAM Annual Convention, Gadkari said road safety remains a major concern for India, which continues to record a very high number of road accidents.
Under the proposed system, traffic violations would result in points being deducted from a driver’s licence. If the deductions cross a prescribed threshold, the licence could be suspended and eventually cancelled.
At the same time, the government is considering a system of rewarding responsible motorists by awarding them “good” points. Drivers accumulating good points could receive incentives from insurance companies and other benefits, Gadkari said.
“This is a very important and good scheme. Every offence will cut points on the driving licence, and after a particular limit the licence will get suspended or even cancelled further. However, people with good points will get incentives from insurance companies and other benefits,” the minister said.
Gadkari also highlighted the need to strengthen safety standards for buses. He said accidents involving buses claimed 3,855 lives in 2024, underlining the need for stricter enforcement of safety regulations.
The minister said the government has introduced a bus body code as part of a new safety regime and warned that strict action would be taken against Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) that violate prescribed norms or fail to enforce them properly.
Meanwhile, Gadkari announced that the government is planning to roll out Bharat NCAP 2.0 from October 2027, with the upgraded programme expected to assess a more comprehensive safety framework for vehicles.
He highlighted the progress made under Bharat NCAP, India’s official vehicle safety assessment programme. The initiative provides independent safety ratings for passenger cars based on crash tests, with vehicles assigned ratings ranging from one to five stars.
Bharat NCAP evaluates vehicle safety, including the protection offered to adult and child occupants during crashes. The proposed Bharat NCAP 2.0 is expected to expand the scope of assessment and play a greater role in addressing India’s persistent road safety challenges.
(IANS)
