A personal experience was the turning point that led you to champion the cause of road safety. How did that moment crystallise your sense of purpose and the impact you hoped to create?

I did not come to road safety as a policy interest. I came to it through grief. When my teenage cousin was killed in a road crash, the loss felt brutally personal, but what stayed with me was how ordinarily the system treated it. A preventable death was filed away like fate: little accountability, little learning, and no urgency to ensure it would not happen again. That contrast between a family’s irreversible loss and a system’s indifference crystallised my purpose.

SaveLIFE Foundation was born from that moment with a simple conviction: road deaths are predictable and preventable when we treat them as a public health and governance challenge, not as random “accidents.” From the beginning, our aim was not only to raise awareness, but to build a model that the government could adopt and scale. That is why our work combines the science of safer roads with the reality of how systems actually function: data led crash analysis, targeted engineering fixes, enforcement reforms, and faster trauma response.

Over time, the mission has become even clearer: prove that saving lives can be engineered into the system. Whether through our Zero Fatality Corridor and District Programmes, or through national policy reforms like the Good Samaritan protections, SaveLIFE’s goal has been to shift India from reacting after tragedy to preventing tragedy in the first place, and to make “lives saved” the country’s most meaningful mobility metric.

India’s infrastructure growth is often measured in kilometres built. How can safety be embedded as a core performance and accountability metric, rather than treated as an afterthought?

If we only measure infrastructure in kilometres built, we will keep building faster roads that move vehicles efficiently but move people into harm. SaveLIFE’s work has shown that safety improves when it is treated as a core performance outcome with clear ownership and measurable targets. The shift starts with what we measure: fatalities and serious injuries per 100 km, reduction in high risk crash types on identified corridors, compliance with safe speed and safe junction standards, and time to emergency response and definitive care. These should be published corridor wise and district wise, so accountability is visible.

Next is what we reward. Project completion should not mean “construction finished.” It should mean “safety validated.” Road safety audits at design, construction, and post opening stages must be mandatory, independent, and closure oriented. Findings should be non negotiable, with payment milestones and contractor ratings linked to compliance with safety requirements like forgiving roadsides, safe median treatments, pedestrian and two wheeler protection, clear signage, and maintenance.

Finally, embed single point accountability. On highways especially, fragmented responsibility kills outcomes. SaveLIFE’s on ground programs work best when engineering, enforcement, and emergency care operate as one coordinated system with clear leadership, shared dashboards, and time bound action plans. When safety becomes measurable, funded, audited, and owned, it stops being an afterthought.

How can Indian industry play a more strategic role in advancing road safety outcomes—through innovation, leadership, and policy engagement—beyond traditional CSR approaches?

Indian industry can be one of the strongest accelerators of road safety if it moves from CSR as charity to safety as strategy. SaveLIFE’s experience is that the highest impact comes when companies use their operational leverage, innovation capacity, and policy voice to make safety the default condition of mobility.

First, lead through fleet and platform safety. Logistics firms, ride sharing and delivery platforms, and large employers can implement speed governance, fatigue management, safer routing, telematics based coaching, and strict helmet and seatbelt compliance. These measures protect workers and customers while setting market norms. 

Second, invest in scalable solutions, not one off campaigns. Support proven interventions on high risk corridors and districts with clear targets, independent evaluation, and transparent reporting. Fund the “last mile” that government struggles with: audit quality, maintenance, and real time monitoring.

Third, strengthen systems through technology and data. Industry can support digital tools for crash investigation, enforcement, and training that can become digital public goods, and partner with organisations like SaveLIFE that work closely with government for adoption at scale.

Finally, use industry bodies to champion stronger safety regulation, not weaker standards. The most responsible corporate stance is to back safer speeds, better vehicle safety norms, and evidence based road design. When industry treats road safety as governance and competitiveness, not philanthropy, outcomes change at population scale.

As mobility rapidly digitises with EVs, ride-sharing, and autonomous technologies, how should regulation evolve to anticipate risk rather than respond after tragedy occurs?

 As EVs, connected vehicles, ride sharing, and assisted driving features grow, regulation must anticipate risk rather than respond after tragedy. SaveLIFE’s lens is simple: new technology must come with new accountability, because the stakes are measured in lives.

First, shift from one-time approvals to continuous safety oversight. Regulators should require post-market monitoring, incident reporting, and rapid corrective action protocols for vehicles, software updates, and mobility platforms. 

Second, update standards for rescue and post crash safety. EV battery risks, thermal events, and post-crash handling demand clear protocols for first responders. Vehicle design should prioritise mechanical access and fast extrication, not just aesthetics.

Third, regulate platforms, not only vehicles. Ride sharing and delivery incentives can unintentionally reward speed and fatigue. Regulation can require platform level safety safeguards: limits on continuous driving hours, speed risk alerts, safe route defaults, and incentive structures that reward safety metrics.

Fourth, build regulatory sandboxes with strong guardrails. Test new technologies in controlled environments with independent evaluation before mass rollout.

Finally, invest in the data spine. SaveLIFE’s work with government shows that better crash data, faster learning loops, and shared dashboards make prevention possible. The goal is not to slow innovation. It is to ensure innovation is safe by design, with accountability built in from day one.

As India looks ahead to 2047, what is your message to policymakers, business leaders, and citizens working collectively to realise the India@100 vision?

If India@100 is about becoming a prosperous, confident nation by 2047, then safety must be part of our definition of development. A country cannot call itself world class if daily travel is a gamble for ordinary families. SaveLIFE’s message, grounded in years of on ground implementation, is that road safety is not a niche issue. It is a test of governance, civic culture, and the value we place on human life.

To policymakers: make safety a governance priority with clear leadership, measurable targets, and public accountability. Treat “lives saved” as a national performance metric. Invest in systems that prevent crashes through safer design and speed management, and systems that save lives through faster emergency response and trauma care. Institutionalise independent road safety audits and make compliance non negotiable. Scale what works, and measure what matters.

To business leaders: treat road safety as strategy. Protect your workforce and customers through safer fleets and platforms. Use your influence to champion stronger standards, not diluted ones. Partner with implementers like SaveLIFE to scale proven models and build digital tools that government can adopt.

To citizens: demand safer roads, and practise safer mobility. Every helmet, every seatbelt, every choice not to speed is civic leadership. By 2047, India can show the world that rapid growth and human safety can advance together, and that progress is measured not only in kilometres built, but in families kept whole.