National Safety Day 2021: Sadak Suraksha theme to be observed this year; history and significance of day

India observes National Safety Day on 4 March to commemorate the foundation of the National Safety Council. The Government of India had initiated the process to set up the council in 1966 to raise awareness about precautions and measures people need to abide by for their safety on roads and workplaces. The day is particularly important as India has witnessed on an average nearly 2,48,000 road accidents between January and June each year between 2014 and 2019, according to a report. According to data in the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), over 4,21,000 people died accidentally in 2019. The number of road accidents was even higher at a mammoth 4,67,171. On 11 December, 1965, India’s Ministry of Labour and Employment organised the first-ever conference on Industrial Safety. The conference, which continued for three days, took place in the national capital and was attended by then President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. During the conference, the need for safety councils on national and state levels was underscored, according to a report in News18. Two months later, in February 1966, in the 24th session of the Standing Labour Committee, the proposal for a National Safety Council was accepted. Even though the National Safety Council was registered as a non-profit entity by the government of India in March 1966, the day marking the foundation came to be celebrated only six years later. What started on 4 March, 1972, as a single day awareness campaign has now turned into an entire week of raising awareness about the Safety, Health and Environment (SHE). “It is our belief that these issues are a basic humanitarian concern. We equally believe that their effective address is greatly facilitated if their intrinsic relationship with quality and productivity is well demonstrated,” reads the organisation’s vision. On this day, the council shares its message of safety in printed as well as electronic forms. One of the major objectives of the yearly campaign is to ensure safety and focus on health issues as these are considered an integral part of the lifestyle and culture. The council tries to achieve it by making people take part in its Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) activities. The National Safety Day follows a theme every year and this year it’s “Sadak Suraksha” (Road Safety).