National Road Safety Board Rules, 2025 — Progress or Missed Opportunity?

 National Road Safety Board Rules, 2025 — Progress or Missed Opportunity?

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has notified the National Road Safety Board (NRSB) Rules, 2025, under Section 215D of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The notification renews attention to India’s long-standing goal of establishing a permanent institutional framework for road safety.

But a key question remains: Do these Rules fulfil the Act’s vision — or merely expand an administrative structure without real autonomy or impact?

 

The Act’s Vision — An Independent Expert Body

Section 215D of the Motor Vehicles Act, inserted through the 2019 amendment, provides for a National Road Safety Board to advise both Central and State Governments on road safety, traffic management, and vehicle standards.

The intent was clear — to create a technical, expert-led, and independent advisory institution, capable of guiding government policy through scientific evidence and professional insight rather than bureaucratic routine.

 

Rules — From 2021 to 2025: What’s Changed

The first NRSB Rules were notified on 3 September 2021 (GSR 615(E) and SO 3627(E)) to give effect to Section 215D. They created a minimal administrative structure, enough to legally constitute the Board but too weak to make it operationally effective.

The 2025 Rules, newly notified, attempt to build on that foundation — adding more procedural and functional detail. Yet, the essential question is: Do they strengthen or soften the Board’s independence?

Aspect	2021 Rules (GSR 615E)	2025 Rules (New Notification)	Implications
Composition	Chairperson + up to 7 members, mostly government officials.	Expanded categories — administration, road engineering, trauma care, enforcement, public health, etc.	Broader representation, but still dominated by officials.
Appointment Process	Nominated by Central Government.	May introduce a search-cum-selection process.	Potentially improves transparency.
Functions	Advisory role on safety standards, training, and research.	Expanded to include accident data analysis, state coordination, and awareness campaigns.	Strengthens scope and operational clarity.
Secretariat	Under MoRTH.	Still under MoRTH.	Functional dependence continues.
Accountability	Annual report to MoRTH.	Broader reporting and evaluation provisions.	Improved transparency but limited enforcement power.

🟢 Verdict:
The 2025 Rules are a modest improvement — they add detail, widen the scope, and formalise accountability.
🔴 But the Board still lacks institutional autonomy and independent composition, the core principles Parliament envisioned.

 

🧠 Rules vs. Act — Legal Clarity

It’s important to clarify a frequent misconception:

Rules need not mirror the Act; they are meant to implement it.

Under delegated legislation, Rules provide the mechanism to operationalise the Act. Courts intervene only when Rules contradict or defeat the Act’s purpose.

As the Supreme Court held in St. Johns Teachers Training Institute v. Regional Director (2003) 3 SCC 321, subordinate legislation may “fill in the details but cannot override or alter the essential features” of the statute.

Hence, the issue with the 2025 Rules is not that they differ from the Act — but that they may dilute the Act’s spirit by making the Board administratively dependent on the same Ministry it must advise.

 

⚠️ Policy Concern — Bureaucratic Control, Limited Expertise

The 2025 framework still places the Board under MoRTH, both financially and administratively.
While expert categories have increased, the balance of representation remains skewed.

Without genuine independence, the Board risks becoming a procedural body rather than a policy think tank. Its recommendations could remain symbolic, not strategic.

🧭 What Road Safety Groups Can Do

The Rules are only the beginning — their effectiveness depends on how civil society, professionals, and citizen groups engage with them.

1. Advocate for Expert Inclusion

Demand at least 50% representation of professionals from transport engineering, trauma care, public health, behavioural science, and consumer safety.

2. Seek Transparency

Use RTI and policy petitions to obtain Board minutes, reports, and decisions. Push for public disclosure of recommendations and action taken.

3. Collaborate, Don’t Confront

Build alliances with policymakers and research institutions to provide technical input on crash data analysis, post-crash response, and driver training standards.

4. Monitor and Report

Publish “People’s Reports on Road Safety Governance”, evaluating the Board’s performance against the National Road Safety Policy (2010) and UN’s Decade of Action (2021–2030).

 

🚘 The Way Forward

The National Road Safety Board Rules, 2025 mark progress but not transformation.
They correct some structural gaps from 2021 but stop short of creating a truly independent and expert-driven institution as envisaged by Section 215D.

India loses over 1.5 lakh lives annually in road crashes. A board that merely advises without autonomy cannot deliver systemic change.
To honour Parliament’s vision, the NRSB must evolve from a bureaucratic committee into a national authority on road safety governance — transparent, accountable, and science-led.

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