MAM
Maruti Suzuki straps on your seat belt with #PehniKya
MUMBAI: Road accidents and fatalities are a national concern. According to the recent Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MRTH) data, not wearing seat belts resulted in 5,638 fatalities during 2016. Fifty percent of these fatalities could be prevented through use of seat belts, an important safety device often ignored by car users in India. A recent study by Maruti Suzuki conducted with Kantar Group (Millward Brown and IMRB) reveals seat belt usage rate is as low as 25 per cent in India.
To address the issue, Maruti Suzuki India has recently rolled out a nationwide social campaign to create awareness and promote seat belt use among drivers and passengers.
Maruti Suzuki senior executive director RS Kalsi says, “Seat belt is one of the most effective safety equipment in a car. Studies by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), USA, show that if an occupant is not wearing a seat belt in a vehicle equipped with airbags, the airbags may actually cause more harm in the event of a crash. At the same time, with the new safety regulations, more cars in India will come equipped with airbags. This makes the usage of seat belts even more critical.”
Called #PehniKya, conceived by Happy mcgarrybowen, a unit of Dentsu Aegis Network, it focuses on driving this behaviour change among car users in India. The high impact 360-degree integrated campaign by Maruti Suzuki comprises print, TVC, radio, digital and on-ground activations.
The emotionally resonant TVC for ‘#PehniKya?’ is centred on a kid trying to stop his father from driving his car, because his father is not in the habit of wearing the seat belt. The TVC is currently being played on major television channels in India spanning the genres of news, movies, etc.
He added, “Lack of awareness of seat belt as a safety device, lack of encouragement from family and friends, and weak law enforcement were among the key reasons for non-usage. Through this campaign, we aim to encourage car occupants to wear their seat belts.”
Happy mcgarrybowen chief creative officer and MD PM Praveen Das mentions, “We were very excited to work on their latest campaign on the seat belt initiative. Drawing from research, we decided to keep the message simple and thought-provoking, thus was born #PehniKya? Another key insight that was validated by research was that people would be far more impacted if the message came from a family member. Hence, the construct of the TVC. The film captures the simple emotion of love of a son for his father.”
MAM
Schneider Electric launches One Unit Mission for Women’s Day
Green Yodha 2.0 urges every Indian household to save one unit of electricity daily.
MUMBAI: Schneider Electric just flipped the switch on savings because this Women’s Day the brightest idea isn’t a new bulb, it’s turning one unit off. Schneider Electric launched the second phase of its Green Yodha initiative, ‘One Unit Mission’, on International Women’s Day 2026, calling on every Indian household to save at least one unit of electricity daily. The campaign was flagged off in Delhi by chief minister Rekha Gupta, actor and sustainability advocate Bhumi Pednekar, and other dignitaries.
Rekha Gupta said, “Delhi’s journey towards clean, resilient growth begins with how efficiently we use the energy we already have. Green Yodha 2.0 reminds us that every citizen is a stakeholder in India’s energy future, and saving one unit of power today is an act of nation-building for tomorrow.”
Schneider Electric India zone president, MD & CEO Deepak Sharma added, “India is entering a decade of unprecedented growth, and that growth will require enormous amounts of energy. The real challenge is not just how much power we produce, but how intelligently we use it. If every Indian household saves just one unit of electricity a day, the impact would be equivalent to planting billions of trees or taking millions of cars off the road.”
Schneider Electric India, vice president of marketing Rajat Abbi noted, “Sustainability becomes real when it is simple and measurable. The One Unit Mission is about turning awareness into everyday action.”
In FY 2023–24, India’s energy-efficiency programmes (PAT, UJALA, S&L, SLNP, CAFÉ) collectively saved 53.6 million tonnes of oil equivalent, avoided 321 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions, and reduced energy expenditure by Rs 2 lakh crore equivalent to nearly 6 per cent of national primary energy supply.
The initiative aligns with government efforts on efficient cooling, appliance standards and the Bureau of Energy Efficiency’s state-level SEEI FY 2024 framework, emphasising demand-side efficiency as a cost-effective complement to new generation capacity.
In a nation sprinting toward brighter, bigger tomorrows, Schneider isn’t selling more power, it’s quietly handing every household a daily superpower: the ability to save one unit and help light up a cleaner, more efficient future, one thoughtful switch at a time.
