NITI AAYOG EXTENDS IT’s SUPPORT TO IRF’s 18th WORLD ROAD MEETING (WRM2017)

“Given the growing demand for road infrastructure, mobility, and the increasing importance of India as a market for road infrastructure and services, India is a befitting venue for the World Road Meet (WRM) . The chosen theme for WRM – 2017 “Safe Roads and Smart Mobility : The Engines of Economic Growth’’ covers Safe Roads, Smart Mobility and Economic Growth; cherished aspirations across the world. As urbanization gathers pace in the country I hope the experts attending the meet will be able to find solutions to problme of more road capacity, more traffic, congestion, parking, pollution, traffic accidents and fatalities; all of which negatively affect our quality of life” said Mr Amitabh Kant, CEO , Niti Aayog in a video message extending support to WRM 2017.

“The WRM – 2017 will explore safe, sustainable, and smart solutions for addressing these and future challenges bring in newer solution and technologies in the country. This global meet will also help in reducing growing road safety and Intelligent Transport System (ITS) technology gap between developed an developing countries” said Mr Kant.

“ The Government is all set to adopt newer smart mobility technologies, whether in the form of traffic and transport efficiency or customized mobility or environment friendly mobility and road safety” said Mr Kant

“The WRM, which is held every four years and hosted by the International Road Federation, (IRF) since last 60 years, offers the road engineering and safety experts, transport experts from automotive sector, experts from Intelligent Transport Systems sector and companies engaged in manufacture of road safety products from across the globe, to come together, meet and discuss issues relevant to road infrastructure and mobility and to exhibit and showcase their products” said K. K. Kapila, Chairman , International Road Federation , the global body working to make roads safer, sustainable, smarter across the world.

“The International Road Federation’s (IRF) Crossroads-WRM is the global platform to facilitate the cross-pollination of ideas among pioneers, businesses and organizations. By connecting high-tech companies, leading experts in the field and governments, we can make mobility a positive reality for everyone. ” said MR Kapila

“The Conference provides an outlet for sharing cutting edge research, best practices and experiences from across the world and is intended to be a premier knowledge event for discussing important issues facing the road, transport and mobility sectors. The theme for the Crossroads WRM 2017 is ‘’Safe Roads and Smart Mobility: Engines of Economic Growth’’. The conference will include four keynote plenary sessions with eminent and well known speakers, 44 parallel sessions with papers from academics and practitioners from across the world, and four sessions dedicated to the IRF Young Professionals to present papers.” He added.

“India, one of the fastest growing economies in the world requires and is attracting massive investments in the transport infrastructure. The IRF’s WRM will also provide an important occasion for potential investors to partner and participate in the immense opportunities that the country has to offer.” Said Mr Kapila.

“The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, (MoRTH) Government of India has already extended it’s support to WRM – 2017. The Ministry stands committed to achieve 50 per cent reduction of road deaths in the country by 2020 as it is a signatory to the UN decade of action for road safety. Pursuant to the invitation extended by the Hon. Minister of Road Transport to the Transport Ministers of various countries at the Mid-Term Review Conference held in November 2015 at Brazil, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways proposes to hold a concurrent global transport Ministerial Conclave on “Eradicating Road Deaths by 2040“ on November 13, 2017 in New Delhi, a day prior to WRM 2017. Transport Ministers from More than 150 countries are expected to attend the meet” said Mr Kapila.

“The major highlight of WRM 2017 will be an exhibition showcasing state-of-the-art technologies on road safety and traffic regulations including control systems, communication and navigation devices, driver training systems, Intelligent Transport System (ITS) Access Control, Barriers, Vehicle Detection, Speed Cameras, License Plate Recognition, Vehicle Classification, Fibre Optics, Road Signs, Highway Infrastructure, latest parking technologies, Road Building, Road Marking & Equipment, Street Lighting, Parking, Pay & Display, Traffic Management, Display Systems, Traffic Monitoring, and Traffic Control Signalling.” Said Mr Kapila