Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Bicycling

India’s Health Minister Wants Protected Bike Lanes Nationwide

There's encouraging news out of India, where cities expect to add hundreds of millions of residents in the next few decades but are already choking on traffic congestion and auto exhaust.

The Indian government appears to be embracing bicycling. Photo: Wikipedia
A senior Indian government official wants the nation to embrace bicycling. Photo: Wikipedia
The Indian government appears to be embracing bicycling. Photo: Wikipedia

Dr. Harsh Vardhan was appointed to lead India's health ministry by newly elected prime minister Narendra Modi this May, and he wants to promote bicycling as a way to improve public health and air quality while adding more transportation options, especially for low-income people.

According to the Indian news outlet First Post, Vardhan would like to see a nationwide effort to install protected bike lanes:

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said that he will approach the Surface Transport and Urban Development Ministries for the development of cycle tracks alongside roads to make cycling a "huge movement" in the country.

"I will personally write to Surface Transport and Urban Development Ministries to do whatever they can in this initiative and also ask them to develop cycle tracks," Vardhan said as he released a study report titled "Peddling towards a Greener India: A Report on Promoting Cycling in the Country", prepared by the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The report also recommended that India offer residents micro-loans to purchase bikes, as well as tax incentives to promote bicycling.

The health problems that auto emissions cause are now grave enough to threaten India's economy, as the number of private vehicles has tripled to 130 million since 2003.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Tuesday’s Headlines Stand Up for Transit

Transit needs investment, not defunding, Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib writes in The Hill.

April 29, 2025

First New Yorker To Get A Subsidized E-Bike: ‘It’s Perfect’

Meet the first person in the Empire state to get a subsidised e-bike!

April 28, 2025

Monday’s Headlines Defy Duffy

It was a bad week for the transportation secretary, between firing too many DOT employees and his lawyers accidentally undermining their own case in a congestion pricing lawsuit.

April 28, 2025

USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy Is Dead Wrong About Bike Lanes

The Secretary of Transportation says he hasn't seen enough data to believe in the benefits of bike lanes. So we put together an explainer help him out — mostly using information from his own department.

April 25, 2025

Friday Video: Check Out Lorde On a Bike!

The Kiwi singer is on the top of the charts — and in our bike-riding hearts.

April 25, 2025
See all posts