Gadkari lauds 'Project Abhay', stresses on road safety, improving truck drivers' lives

New Delhi [India], January 29 (ANI): Union Minister Nitin Gadkari presided over an event at IIT Delhi, during which the findings of Project Abhay were released, and lauded the initiative for improving the lives of truck drivers.
Project Abhay, designed and developed by the Centre for Rural Development & Technology (CRDT), IIT Delhi, in collaboration with Foresight Foundation and supported by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), aims to enhance the health, vision, and safety of truck drivers.
The project has successfully screened over 50,000 truck drivers across Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, addressing critical health and vision challenges faced by this indispensable yet underserved workforce.
Prof Vivek Kumar, CRDT, IIT Delhi and Prof Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi were also present during the culmination ceremony held on Wednesday.
Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, lauded the initiative, saying it is improving road safety and improving the lives of the truck drivers.
"Project Abhay is not just about improving road safety; it's about improving driver's lives. We are committed to uplifting the quality of life of truck drivers who majorly belong to economically and socially backward communities, which is crucial to enhancing India's Domestic Happiness Index. With 70 per cent of traffic on roads and logistics costs soaring at 14-16 per cent, India faces significant challenges in transportation. If we want to grow exports and enhance national efficiency, we must cut these costs," he said.
The findings of the report, released at the event stated that 55.1 per cent of truck drivers suffer from compromised vision, with 53.3 per cent requiring distance vision correction and 46.7 per cent needing near-vision correction. Notably, the initiative achieved a vision correction rate of 93.7 per cent, with spectacles provided on-site at Abhay Health Camps.
However, beyond vision care, health screenings also revealed several widespread concerns: 44.3 per cent of drivers had high or borderline BMI, 57.4 per cent showed elevated blood pressure, and 33.9 per cent reported moderate stress. Social security coverage surged from 51.5 per cent to 86.16 per cent, extending benefits to over 62,700 family members with a total cumulative value of Rs502 crore.
The report stated that the 'Abhay App' played a pivotal role in enabling real-time data collection, streamlining camp operations, and ensuring transparency. The live dashboards provided actionable insights, ensuring immediate corrective measures during implementation.
The initiative facilitated regular health screenings, vision screenings, on-the spot spectacles dispensing, social security linkages. It also worked towards upskilling on legal compliance and physical wellness and brought a web portal for truck drivers.
Gadkari, while speaking at the event, also pointed at a critical issue of a shortage of drivers and said the government is committed to working for digitization and app integration. He further emphasised that the government, with the support of IIT research, is exploring innovative solutions to reduce costs and improve the sector's efficiency.
"A critical issue is the shortage of drivers--there are only 75 drivers for every 100 trucks. We're addressing this by focusing on driver training, wellbeing, and we are committed to digitization and app integration to improve their lives. With 5 lakh accidents and 1.80 lakh deaths annually, the integration of advanced technologies like automatic emergency braking, electronic stability control and prioritizing human behavior training, particularly from a young age, will be key in reducing fatalities," the Minister said.
"With the support of IIT research, we are also exploring innovative solutions to reduce costs and improve the sector's efficiency. Through these integrated efforts and initiative like Project Abhay, we are laying the foundation for safer roads and more efficient & equitable logistics system," he added. (ANI)