NEW DELHI, APRIL 23, 2018: THE Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Mr Nitin Gadkari, has said that India is exploring an agreement with South Korea for introduction of Highways Information System in the country. This would be developed on lines of the system run by the Express Highways Information Corporation of South Korea, with integrated monitoring of a highway at a centralized control room.

Inaugurating the 29 th National Road Safety Week in New Delhi's Vigyan Bhavan today, the Minister spelt out the ministry's priorities in ensuring safety of road users in the country. He informed that he has fixed a target of bringing down the number of road fatalities to half from the around 1.5 lakh accidental deaths reported when he took over. Mr Gadkari said, though progress has been achieved in this respect, he is still not satisfied and aspires to keep working in this direction.

The Ministry organizes the Road Safety Week every year to create awareness among general public and improve upon the safety of road users. This year, Road Safety Week is being organized from 23 rd to 29 th of April and the focus is on schools and commercial drivers. Addressing the participants Mr Gadkari requested that every student be made a road safety ambassador for his family and for the society. Various activities have been organized for school / college students, drivers and all road users.

The Minister gave away awards to fifteen school children who won the national level essay competition on road safety. The top three winners were given cash prizes of Rs 15,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 and a certificate each. Mr Gadkari also administered the road safety pledge to all those present on the occasion.