NEW DELHI: India’s GDP takes a 3 per cent hit every year due to road accidents, equivalent to over USD 58 billion in value terms, a United Nations (UN) study has found out.
Conducted by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the study says that in value terms, the country is behind Japan among the 19 countries covered in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Indian economy takes a 3 per cent hit every year due to road traffic accidents, which is over USD 58,000 million in terms of value,” the study said.
India is only behind Japan (USD 63,000 million) in terms of value while in terms of GDP loss, it comes behind Iran which is at 6 per cent (USD 30,697 million), it added.
“The total loss to GDP to these nations is to the tune of USD 2,93,568 million annually,” UNESCAP Chief of Transport Policy and Development Section Peter O’Neill said.
He was speaking at a three-day conference organised by the Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE) here.
Expressing concern over the high rate of road accident fatalities in India, O’Neill called for better policies and stricter enforcement of regulations to promote road safety of road users, particularly two-wheeler users. (AGENCIES)
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