New safety norms for ₹6,000-cr firecracker industry to avert mishaps

Amid a rising toll of firecracker-related injuries during festivals, India has, for the first time, issued comprehensive guardrails for the ₹6,000 crore industry, aiming to shift accountability to manufacturers and stop hazardous or unauthorized devices from reaching consumers, according to two officials and documents reviewed by Mint.

- Priyanka Sharma

India has an annual incidence of seven firecracker-related injuries per 100,000 population.

(HT)

The health and family welfare ministry's framework, issued earlier this month, spans mandatory safety audits, tighter factory design norms, explicit chemical prohibitions, and a transition to ‘green crackers’ that reduce particulate emissions by 30-35%.

India has an annual incidence of seven firecracker-related injuries per 100,000 population, underscoring the need to contain what the framework describes as a “preventable epidemic” of festive trauma.