Can Six Airbags Help Industry Expand?

Auto and ancillary industry will undergo a paradigm shift once the six airbags mandate is implemented from october 1. Here’s what the change will mean for companies as well as car buyers.

- Rishi Kant

TWITTER HAS FOR YEARS been a frontier for breaking news. Among regulars at the microblogging site is Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari. In October 2022, he tweeted that government has decided to defer implementation of a proposal mandating at least six airbags in passenger vehicles by one year. “Considering the global supply chain constraints being faced by the auto industry and its impact on the macroeconomic scenario, it has been decided to implement the proposal from October 1, 2023,” he said.

This came as a salve for carmakers. Society Of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) had earlier exhorted Gadkari’s ministry to “review and reconsider” the decision as “side and curtain bags are not mandated anywhere else” in the world. “SIAM is taking up the issue with central government, not only for six airbags but also three-point seatbelts at the back, as those are also required now. Putting six airbags without installing (rear) seat belts will not serve any useful purpose. There has to be a timeline for that as well,” R.C. Bhargava, chairman, Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), India’s largest carmaker, told Fortune India. MSIL will be most affected by the mandate as it dominates the entry-level segment. “The focus has been on adding passive safety features to drive up the price. They, along with NCAP (New Car Assessment Programs) standards, have no significant impact on number of accidents,” he says. “There exists (in many countries) a rigorous programme for training and testing before a person gets a driving licence. There’s no such thing in India.”