Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has partnered with Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) to launch a nationwide online road safety programme for school students. The initiative was formally inaugurated at Kendriya Vidyalaya No 2, New Delhi, by Union Ministers Nitin Jairam Gadkari and Dharmendra Pradhan. The programme is backed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the Ministry of Education, and is positioned as a key step towards shaping responsible mobility culture through early education.
Under this collaboration, road safety learning will now be part of the academic experience for students across 1,253 Kendriya Vidyalayas. The initiative, part of SIAM’s broader “Safe Journey” mission, introduces six age-appropriate digital modules covering topics such as basic road behaviour, helmet and seatbelt usage, pedestrian safety, traffic laws, and emergency protocols. These modules are tailored for Foundational, Middle, and Senior Secondary levels, and will be hosted on a custom-built digital learning management system developed by SIAM.
Nitin Gadkari stressed that children must be sensitised to road safety rules early in life, such as discouraging mobile phone usage while driving or insisting on wearing rear seatbelts. He said that making students ambassadors of change could have a lasting impact on public road conduct. Dharmendra Pradhan echoed these sentiments, urging KVS and SIAM to expand the curriculum through audio-visual tools and social media outreach, and also called for future integration of energy conservation education.
This programme comes at a critical time when India continues to grapple with road safety challenges. With over 1.5 lakh road fatalities reported annually, the long-term impact of such structured education could be meaningful. Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Education, noted the relevance of developing ‘design thinking’ in schools under the National Education Policy, and said that such educational interventions could foster critical thinking among students and instil lifelong values related to personal and public safety.
Vinod Aggarwal, former President of SIAM and MD & CEO of Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles, highlighted how India's road safety standards are now aligned with global norms. He underlined that the initiative represents a long-term national movement starting with schoolchildren and extending to society at large.
No financial cost has been announced for accessing the learning modules, making them freely available to the entire KVS network. While the pricing impact for industry stakeholders remains outside the scope of this educational partnership, the long-term economic benefits of improved road safety, such as reduced accident-related losses, are expected to be significant.
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