As India accelerates toward smarter highways and connected cities, the company’s technology ecosystem is quietly becoming the force behind safer roads and data-driven mobility – shaping a future where infrastructure thinks, reacts, and protects.
India’s mobility landscape is changing at a historic pace, and 3M India is quietly playing a pivotal role in this transformation. The company is helping shape safer, smarter, and more efficient roads by bringing together science, innovation, and integrated infrastructure solutions.
From advanced adhesives and sealants to electronic tolling systems, parking solutions, smart signage, retro-reflective materials, and pavement markers, 3M is building systems that work seamlessly across the country’s expanding road network.
As national programmes like Bharatmala, Gati Shakti, and the Smart Cities Mission accelerate connectivity and logistics efficiency–with over 7,500 smart city projects completed and national highway length up 60% since 2014–3M has become a trusted partner for governments and city authorities. Its Transportation and Electronics Business Group works closely with Central and State agencies to deploy solutions aligned with IRC, AIS, BIS, MoRTH, and NHAI standards, ensuring consistency and safety across India’s rapidly modernising infrastructure.
Speaking to this publication, Mr. Pawan Kumar Singh, Director and Country Business Head – TEBG (Transportation & Electronics Business Group), 3M India, explained that the company’s high-performance solutions–ranging from wayfinding systems and architectural films to fleet graphics and variable message signs–are helping cities create safe, clear, and visually cohesive public spaces. These technologies directly support the Smart Cities Mission by improving navigation, enhancing aesthetics, and making urban environments more commuter-friendly.
Yet, he noted, India still faces a serious road safety challenge. “Road accidents increased by 4.2% in 2023, and more than 83% of fatalities were among working-age citizens,” he said. With India’s road death rate far above global targets, the Ministry has intensified efforts through policy changes, revised IRC guidelines, and black-spot correction. Studies show road signs, markings, and safety furniture alone can reduce crashes by up to 56%, making these interventions essential.
Recognizing this, the Ministry has taken proactive steps like amending the Motor Vehicle Act, revising IRC manuals, issuing new guidelines, and addressing black spots to improve road safety outcomes. In line with these guidelines, the Transportation safety portfolio is working closely with all concerned stakeholders ranging from concessionaires to consultants making sure that road user safety is not compromised, he said.
At the Core of India’s Smart Mobility Shift
As India races toward smarter highways and connected cities, 3M’s technology ecosystem is emerging as a quiet yet powerful enabler of safer, more data-driven mobility. At its core is 3M’s deep expertise in optical science and retroreflective materials, which dramatically improve visibility for both human drivers and machine-vision systems used in ADAS and future autonomous vehicles. From Diamond Grade sign sheeting to all-weather pavement markings, these solutions ensure roads remain readable day and night, in any condition.
But visibility is only the beginning. The company’s digital tools are transforming how road infrastructure is monitored and maintained. The cloud-based Roadway Safety Asset Manager (RSAM) helps authorities track signs, guardrails, and markings in real time–replacing manual inspections with precise digital planning that cuts downtime and improves safety. Similarly, its traffic sign design software, if adopted nationally, can standardise sign formats across India, eliminating visual confusion and enhancing driver response times. “Complementing this is 3M’s in-house traffic sign design tool, a technology that, if adopted at the Ministry level in India, would ensure nationwide uniformity in sign designs by enforcing consistent standards for layout and retroreflective performance, thus eliminating visual confusion and significantly enhancing safety for all drivers,” Mr Singh noted.
On the ground, Smart Variable Message Signs (VMS) deliver live traffic, weather, and emergency updates using cloud connectivity, GPS inputs, and sensor data. This creates an intelligent information layer that helps cities manage congestion, guide commuters, and respond swiftly to incidents.
As India transitions to digital-ready, connected highways, 3M’s optical and sensor-friendly materials are playing a crucial role. They ensure road markings and signs can be reliably detected by vehicle cameras and radars, supporting ADAS features and future autonomous navigation–making infrastructure as intelligent as the vehicles on it.
According to Mr. Singh, the Government of India’s growing emphasis on standardisation and enforcement of road safety norms–through IRC, BIS, and AIS standards, along with recent MoRTH and NHAI circulars–is creating a significant opportunity for us to contribute meaningfully to India’s safer mobility vision. For 3M, alignment of policy and practice opens up new avenues to support implementing agencies, concessionaires, and consultants with cutting-edge solutions that meet and exceed these specifications. From Type XI retroreflective sign sheeting and durable road markings to vehicle conspicuity and work zone safety systems, its technologies are already helping projects achieve compliance while improving long-term safety outcomes.
Sustainability sits at the centre of 3M’s approach, he said, adding that the company is designing longer-lasting materials that reduce waste, adopting solvent-free and energy-efficient manufacturing, and working towards phasing out PFAS. By improving road visibility and reducing accidents and congestion, its safety solutions also indirectly cut emissions–supporting India’s broader environmental goals. Together, these innovations show how science, data, and design can reshape India’s mobility landscape–creating roads that are not just safer, but smarter and more sustainable for the future, he explained.
Protecting Standards
The road safety market is often flooded with cheap, low-quality replicas that may look similar but fail to protect road users. For 3M, this is not just a quality issue–it’s a safety risk. To tackle this challenge, the company has built a strong, multi-layered approach to ensure its products remain authentic, reliable, and fully compliant with national standards.
Mr. Singh said the company regularly conducts counterfeit awareness programmes in partnership with MoRTH, NHAI, and State authorities, helping engineers and contractors identify genuine materials. The company even uses its own authenticity-checking App, alongside legal investigations and market raids, to curb counterfeit circulation. In the field, the company supports periodic testing with government labs and third-party agencies, validating the retro-reflectivity and durability of products throughout their lifespan. Every genuine 3M reflective product comes with a warranty certificate and a traceability system, giving agencies confidence that what they install is safe, certified, and built to perform, he explained.
Beyond roads, it is also shaping the next generation of India’s public infrastructure. As cities expand their metro networks, multimodal hubs, and rapid transit corridors, 3M’s branding, safety, and digital technologies are helping these spaces become smarter and more commuter-friendly. Its architectural films, fleet graphics, and high-performance signage systems enhance wayfinding and aesthetics, while smart VMS displays deliver real-time travel information to millions of daily users. Together, these solutions support India’s growing push for connected, sustainable, and visually cohesive urban environments–ensuring public spaces are not just functional, but safer and more welcoming for everyone, Mr. Singh signed off.