The transport sector forms the backbone of India’s economy. Today, the logistics sector represents five percent of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs 2.2 crore people. Carrying about 60-65% of the freight traffic, truck drivers playing a pivotal role in ensuring the seamless movement of goods across the country. India’s trucking industry with over 3.5 million truck drivers is facing the problem of driver shortage. The Truck to driver ratio has come down from 1.3 in 1980s to 0.55 in 2024 has resulted 40% trucks to stand idle. Truck driving profession has become un aspirational due to numerous challenges truck drivers face like a tough way of life, Irregular meal timing, lack of access to nutritious food, long working hours, lack of sleep, limited access to health care opportunities, family and other social institutions, and low respect. Safety on roads is a another significant concern and accidents are common involving trucks on highways. Despite the demanding nature of their profession about 85% of these drivers work in the unorganized sector, leaving them without access to essential benefits like health insurance, pension schemes, and accident coverage which makes the profession repelling.
Health and wellbeing of truck drivers and their family is a major concern area and often remains overlooked. Data from the Ministry of Labour and Employment (2020) shows that only 15% of informal sector workers in India have access to any form of social security. Truck drivers often have limited awareness of their health conditions, with hypertension, diabetes, dehydration, and muscle pain being common concerns and then Limited access to medical facilities due to continuous stays on highways. IIT Delhi and Foresight foundation with the support of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, thoughtfully designed and implemented an integrated framework Project Abhay that seamlessly combines health, vision, social security, and behavioural interventions to provide a holistic solution tailored to the unique needs of truck drivers. Project Abhay follows an holistic approach by integrating comprehensive health screenings including physical health, mental health, and vision check-ups with on-spot dispensing of spectacles, social security enrolments, awareness modules, and soft skilling workshops.
The project operates through a modular health camp-based approach, ensuring systematic delivery of services to each participant. The camps operates at high-potential locations with consistent inflow of truck drivers such as toll plazas, transport nagars, RTO fitness centers, port terminals, and dhabas.
- So far, Project Abhay have reached over 50,000 truck drivers across six states—Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. Project Abhay demonstrated significant outcomes. Evaluation of mental and physical health at Project Abhay camp sites helped truck drivers knowing their health condition which majority of them were not aware without visiting doctor specially. About 55.1% of truck drivers were found to have compromised vision, with 53.3% requiring distance vision correction and 46.7% needing near-vision correction. The on-site dispensing of spectacles ensured that 93.7% of drivers with refractive errors received immediate corrections. Health screening finds 44.3% of drivers exhibited borderline or above Body Mass Index (BMI), 57.4% had elevated blood pressure levels, and 18.4% showed borderline or high blood sugar levels. Drivers were provided with counselling on lifestyle changes including dietary changes and stress management, yoga training, with urgent cases referred to for further medical investigation. About 33.9% of drivers reported moderate stress, while 2.9% were found to have high stress levels, emphasizing the need for mental health support. Dedicated mental health counselling desks provided guidance and introduced drivers to resources like Tele-MANAS for ongoing support. Additionally, yoga sessions helped truck drivers immensely. Soft skill training focusing on critical aspects such as the proper way of loading trucks, the appropriate use of dippers and high beams, effective and calm communication with law enforcement officials, essential measures to take in case of an accident, and the importance of FASTag has enhanced the efficiency of truck drivers and also contributed to a more safe and cooperative ecosystem and creating a holistic and meaningful impact on truck drivers and their families. Games based learning and tools like the Saarthi Sathi Handbook and driver cabin posters are playing significant roles in ensuring high impact and continuous learning. The handbook has a physical wellness section includes awareness material on health and hygiene, step-by-step exercise routines tailored for alleviating discomfort during long driving. During the follow up sessions many drivers found handbook and posters very helpful and motivating.
- Integrating truck drivers into social security schemes is a step toward achieving inclusive social protection in India beyond improving truck driver’s quality of life. Through these efforts, Project Abhay seeks to empower truck drivers, enabling them to lead healthier, more confident lives and fostering an inclusive and sustainable environment for one of the most essential yet underserved communities in the nation. Project Abhay facilitated the registration of 15,447 drivers on e-Shram, 8,444 drivers on Ayushman Bharat, and 3706 drivers on Abhay Suraksha Bima Yojana, extending health and life insurance to over 62,700 family members with cumulative coverage exceeding ₹502 crore.
Project Abhay also reflects the synergy of collaboration among government bodies, transport unions, logistics, and grassroots organizations, ensuring that every stakeholder contributes to creating impactful and sustainable change.