“The most important work you will ever do is work that outlasts you. Build something real. Build something that matters.”
The Fellowship
A professional placement. At the heart of a movement.
The Safer Mobility Impact Fellowship (SMIF) is a full-time fellowship built for individuals who want to work closely on one of India’s most urgent public challenges — safer mobility and road safety transformation.
More than a conventional fellowship, SMIF is structured as an immersive professional experience for people who want to take ownership, work alongside high-performing teams, and contribute to work that extends beyond classrooms, campaigns, and conversations into real-world systems and execution.
Fellowship Details
Location
Gurugram
Cars24 Headquarters
Duration & Timeline
1 Year · Full-Time
Cohort 2026–27
Fellowship Allowance
₹50,000
per month
Tracks Available
6 Open Tracks
All disciplines
Eligibility
Open to Graduates
Any discipline, any background
Fellowship Tracks
Find your role. Own your workstream.
Six tracks across disciplines. Each is a full-time professional role with defined deliverables, real stakeholders, and outcomes that enter public record.
Programme & Operations
GurugramOn-siteFull-time
Programme Management Fellow
Drive end-to-end execution of infrastructure safety and community engagement initiatives across multiple cities.
Research
GurugramOn-siteFull-time
Policy Research Fellow
Design and execute primary research on road safety, vulnerable road users, and legal-financial gaps in post-crash systems.
Strategy & Operations
GurugramOn-siteFull-time
Strategy & Operations Fellow
Drive institutional programme design, cultivate high-value partnerships, and lead national-level policy engagement.
Cause Marketing & Comms
GurugramOn-siteFull-time
Cause Marketing Fellow
Build and execute evidence-based public campaigns, own media strategy, and lead behaviour change initiatives at national scale.
Urban Planning & Infrastructure
GurugramOn-siteFull-time
Urban Planning & Infrastructure Fellow
Conduct structured site audits, geospatial risk analysis, and translate field findings into government-submitted recommendations.
Development & Communications
GurugramOn-siteFull-time
Development & Communications Fellow
Lead resource mobilisation, steward institutional relationships, and build communications infrastructure for long-term programme delivery.
Are You the Right Person?
We are looking for builders, not bystanders.
SMIF is a high-accountability placement for individuals prepared to own a consequential problem. The stakes are lives, not metrics.
You want formative professional years that generate outcomes — not just experience
You function effectively in ambiguous, high-stakes environments
You hold a genuine interest in road safety, urban systems, or evidence-based policy
Your background spans social sciences, law, policy, management, urban planning, engineering, or communications
You intend to lead a workstream — not shadow one
How to Apply
Five steps. One decision.
The selection process is designed to identify one quality above all — whether you can own a consequential problem and deliver on it. Credentials matter less than that.
STEP 01
Registration
Submit your basic information and résumé. Indicate your preferred fellowship track.
STEP 02
Video Assignment
A short video — why you're applying and what you intend to build during the fellowship.
STEP 03
Round 1 Interview
Skills and capability assessment — how you think and structure problems under ambiguity.
STEP 04
Round 2 Interview
Mission alignment and culture fit — your commitment to the cause and how you work in a team.
STEP 05
Fellowship Start
Your placement begins at Cars24 HQ, Gurugram. Your mandate starts from day one.
Assessed on systems thinking, communication under ambiguity, and mission alignment — not the prestige of prior affiliations.
Every fellow leaves with a documented, verifiable record of real work — outputs that institutional partners, employers, and government bodies can independently confirm.
Published Research & Policy Briefs
Primary research formally submitted to central government ministries and presented at national policy forums.
Government-Approved Outcomes
Audit findings and policy proposals reviewed and approved by district and civic authorities for real-world implementation.
National Forum Presentations
Present directly before government officials, academic experts, and global health and mobility bodies at national-level events.
Mentorship & Expert Network
Direct working access to faculty from premier technical institutions, senior government officials, and global road safety practitioners.
Institutional Commendations
Formal recognition from the heads of premier academic institutions and national bodies for work delivered during the fellowship.
Independent Media Coverage
Work independently covered by national print and digital media — attributed to the fellow who led and delivered it.
What Cohort 1 Built
The proof is already on the ground.
In its inaugural year, SMIF generated outcomes that traversed the full arc — from field observation to formal government submission, national media, and a movement now backed by one of India’s most recognised names.
Infrastructure
22/31
Sites approved by civic authorities for implementation
Public Reach
1M+
People reached through public awareness campaigns
Policy
250+
Policy submissions from law & governance students
Community
150+
Active members across 18+ Indian cities
01Infrastructure
Project Rakshak
India's first large-scale youth-led road safety audit. Students from 18 cities systematically identifying, auditing, and redesigning the country's most dangerous intersections — with formal civic authority approval at each stage.
Sites approved for infrastructure implementation
22 / 31
120+ high-risk sites assessed across India
75+ youth deployed in 18 cities
2 active construction sites underway
Validated against IRC & MoRTH standards · Faculty-reviewed at premier technical universities
02Policy
NextMile Ideathon
National road safety policy competition convening law and governance students around two priority areas — Gig Rider Safety and Crash Claim Compensation — with an expert evaluation panel drawn from government, global health bodies, and national media.
Evaluation Panel
Govt. Ministry · WHO India · Int'l Road Safety · National Media
250+ policy submissions from across India
37 teams mentored · 60+ policy experts
₹5 Lakh prize pool
Shortlisted proposals formally submitted to the Government of India
03Research
Research Programmes
Two concurrent primary research workstreams addressing India's most under-documented road safety crises — gig worker vulnerability and post-crash legal failure — submitted to central government ministries.
Gig Rider Safety Study — 300+ workers interviewed · Submitted to Ministry of Labour & Employment
Launched at the National Road Safety Forum, April 2026
Media Coverage
Times of IndiaEconomic Times InfraHindustan Times
Institutional Partners & Supporters
Premier Technical UniversitiesMoRTHWHO IndiaWRIBloomberg PhilanthropiesIRFCars24CIIPwCJohns Hopkins University
From the Fellows
Hear it from the people inside.
Every word below is from someone who spent twelve months doing the actual work — not preparing for it. Their experience is the most accurate description of what you are stepping into.
“Road safety is not a niche issue — it is a governance failure that plays out every day, on every street. At CFI, you are close enough to the problem to actually do something about it.”
MY
Muskan Yadav
Programme & Operations Fellow · MA Development Studies · TISS Mumbai
What they built
Led Project Rakshak across 18 cities · 31 field teams managed · 23+ government-approved site recommendations
“CFI does not ask you to prepare for impact work — it puts you inside it from day one. The accountability is real, the learning curve is steep, and that is exactly what makes this experience different.”
Conceptualised and executed NextMile Ideathon · 250+ submissions · Finalists presented before central government ministries and global health bodies
“The gap between what the law provides and what families actually receive after a road crash is staggering. Documenting that gap and placing it before policymakers — that is the work that matters.”
KK
Kesar Kanjhlia
Research Fellow · Law & Public Policy
What they built
Led the Crash Claim Compensation Study "Justice Unserved" · Formally launched at National Road Safety Forum, April 2026 · Submitted to MoRTH
“Making people care about road safety is not a communications challenge — it is a credibility challenge. When your campaign is backed by real data and real field work, the story tells itself.”
R
Rohan
Cause Marketing & Communications Fellow · Media & Strategic Communications
What they built
Led the Good Samaritan awareness series · 1M+ people reached across digital platforms · National media coverage in Times of India, Hindustan Times
Common Questions
Frequently asked.
Safer Mobility Impact Fellowship 2.0
Work that shows up in the world.
Cohort 2026–27 is now accepting applications. Seats are limited, selective, and awarded on demonstrated potential — not credentials.
