Shivkumar Balasubramanian, Senior Director at Netradyne, opened the Mumbai edition of a round-table discussion titled ‘The Safety Circuit: Enhancing Safety Standards in Logistics and Supply Chains,’ reflecting on the paradox of India’s improving infrastructure and the persistent high fatality rates. “How do you analyse driving behaviour? It’s a subject never thought of before AI,” stressed Balasubramanian. With 13 billion miles of driving data, Netradyne aims to enhance driver behaviour through AI and data analytics. “We hope our insights can be of some use to India, to saving lives,” said Balasubramanian. Indeed, Balasubramanian’s comment rings a compelling pitch as in 2022 alone, India witnessed a staggering 4,61,000 road accidents, claiming the lives of 1,68,491 individuals. One must be cognisant of the socioeconomic realities in India where commercial driving, associated with low wages, long and rigorous working hours, and poor health, is least aspirational in India. Venkat Vennapally, VP of Supply Chain at Mondelez India Foods, echoed these sentiments, stressing the lack of respect and professional recognition for drivers. Rajeev Mehta, Senior President and Chief Logistics Officer at UltraTech Cement, highlighted the dual challenges of functional and behavioural competence among drivers. From inadequate infrastructure to lax law enforcement and insufficient driver training mandates, Tejal Tyagi, Senior Director of Environment, Health, and Safety at PepsiCo for Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia pointed out the systemic issues in India’s road safety landscape. Arpit Raj, Head of Logistics and Customer Service at Colgate Consumer Products Limited, emphasised the need for better categorisation and continuous measurement of driver performance.
The roundtable, organised by The Economic Times and powered by Netradyne, underscored a common theme: the imperative need to transform how we train, treat, and value drivers. The commitment to safety must be relentless and pervasive, encompassing every aspect of road usage-from individual drivers to overarching corporate policies. It’s a collective effort aimed at not only reducing accidents but also at according safety and dignity to drivers. Watch the video to learn more about the strategies.