The Central government is all set to make airbags for front passengers mandatory for all the new car or truck models manufactured in India from April 1, 2021 and all current ones from June 1, 2021.
“Vehicles manufactured on and after 1st Day of April 2021, in the case of new models, and 1st day of June 2021, in the case of existing models, shall be fitted with airbag for the person occupying the front seat, other than the driver. The requirement for such airbag shall be as per AIS 145…under the Bureau of Indian Standards act, 2016,” study a draft notification, issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on December 28.
For the uninitiated, airbags have been created mandatory for drivers from July 2019. Also, security options like speed alert method, driver and co-driver seatbelt reminder, reverse parking alert method, manual override for central locking method had been also created mandatory.
Meanwhile, the Central government is open to hearing recommendations from stakeholders concerning the proposed mandatory provision inside 30 days from the date of notification.
If the proposal is implemented, it will influence smaller automakers like Maruti Suzuki Alto, Hyundai Santro, Renault Kwid and so forth. The production fees of quite a few smaller automakers is bound to go greater.