New Delhi, Aug. 10 -- Union Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari issued a stark warning on India's road safety crisis, stating that no war or disease claims as many lives as India's roads do each year.

He was speaking at a road safety event in the national capital on Monday, organised by ICICI Lombard General Insurance as part of the company's flagship CSR initiative.

Laying out the scale of the crisis, Gadkari said India records nearly 5 lakh road accidents annually, resulting in 1.8 lakh deaths. Of these, 66 per cent of the deceased are young people, he said, calling it a loss the country cannot afford.

The Minister revealed that 54,132 people lost their lives last year simply because they were not wearing helmets, while ...