India's National Highway Fatalities Decline First Time Since Covid, Overall Road Deaths Rise
Quick Look
- For the first time since the Covid pandemic, fatalities on India's national highways (NHs) declined by 4.1% to 62,122 in 2025 from 64,772 in 2024, despite an overall rise in road deaths.
- Government data submitted to Lok Sabha shows 20 states recorded a decline, with Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab seeing the steepest falls, while states like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra reported increases.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Government data submitted to Lok Sabha revealed that fatalities on national highways in India declined by 4.1% in 2025 compared to 2024, marking the first such decline since the Covid pandemic, even as overall road deaths increased.
NEW DELHI: For the first time since the Covid pandemic, fatalities on national highways (NHs) declined last year, even as overall road deaths rose in India. Govt data submitted in Lok Sabha last week shows that deaths on NHs, including Centre-run expressways, fell by 4.1% to 62,122 in 2025 from 64,772 in 2024. Among states and UTs, 20 recorded a decline in fatalities on NHs while 15 reported an increase. Lakshadweep, with no national highways, was the only one to record ‘zero NH fatalities’ since 2022. Data shows UP registered the steepest decline in NH deaths, with fatalities dropping from 9,560 in 2024 to 7,573 in 2025. Madhya Pradesh also reported a significant reduction, from 4,644 to 3,610, along with Punjab, which logged a sharp fall from 1,562 to 1,022 during the same period. States that witnessed a rise in NH fatalities include Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.
Open Questions
- What factors contributed to the decline in NH fatalities?
- What caused the rise in overall road deaths in India?
