The government deferred the 6-airbag rule by a year, citing supply chain constraints
The government has postponed the implementation of the mandatory six airbags in passenger cars by one year till October 2023, citing constraints related to the global supply chain faced by the auto industry.
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has made six airbags mandatory in vehicles that can carry eight passengers from October 1, 2022.
“Keeping in view the global supply chain constraints looked at by the auto industry and its impact on the macroeconomic script, the decision to apply the offer calling a minimum of 6 airbags in passenger buses ( M- 1 order) with effect from October 1 2023, has been taken. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said in a tweet on Thursday.
“The safety of all passengers travelling in motor vehicles is the most important precedence, anyhow of their cost and variant,” he twittered.
Safety of all passengers travelling in motor vehicles irrespective of their cost and variants is the foremost priority.
— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) September 29, 2022
In January this year, the ministry issued a draft notification to amend the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), 1989, to include the airbag mandate for car manufacturers.
The auto industry has been pushing back this upgrade for several years for various reasons, including the impact on the cost of vehicles in a price-sensitive market.
Gadkari, however, had stressed the need to make airbags a standard feature for all riders in passenger cars, adding that carmakers fit enough airbags in similar vehicles for export markets.
Automakers have also outlined heavy taxes on cars, making their products costlier in the domestic market.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, over 1.55 lakh people lost their lives in road accidents across the country in 2021, the highest such figures recorded in any calendar year.
