India is one of the most pedestrian unfriendly countries in the world.

Considering the sheer number of people who do not have their own vehicles, one would imagine that local governments would make the roads safer for pedestrians. There have been multiple central government schemes to address urban issues,  eg. JnNURM - a scheme that was meant to improve quality of life in cities. However, precious little has been done to make roads safe for pedestrians and cities that aspire to ape the west when it comes to hosting malls and hi-tec companies fail to address the inconveniences to pedestrians. Crossing intersections and even walking on regular roads is a death-defying challenge.

Apart from that, there is a growing epidemic of obesity and other health related issues due to lack of adequate exercise in an increasing number of people. A pedestrian friendly urban area can encourage more people to get on their feet and experience their surroundings more intimately. 

Pedestrian friendly roads can also increase the number of people visiting local businesses that depend on foot traffic, thereby increasing income to local civic bodies.

In most urban areas of India, vehicular traffic rule the roads and during severe traffic jams, vehicular traffic even encroach the negligible pedestrian space.

While India tries to achieve the status of a "Developed Nation" one point that needs to be clear is that most "Developed Nations" are pedestrian friendly and it is an absolute necessity on many fronts to make urban areas safe to be explored even by foot. 

I would like to urge all urban corporations to install pedestrian signals at all intersections where there is pedestrian traffic and also come down heavily on vehicular traffic that violate both traffic as well as pedestrian signals.