There is ‘no need’ to make six airbags mandatory for cars, Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. The minister’s statement comes nearly a year after he announced that the government had decided to mandate a minimum of six airbags in passenger cars with effect from October 1, 2023.
Gadkari’s Wednesday remark came at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA).
There, he was asked by the moderator, Autocar India Editor Hormazd Sorabjee, regarding the status of the 6-airbag rule.
Gadkari replied: “Whatever be the economic model of six bags, people will prefer to take that car. So, it is up to the market, they have to decide. The star rating, Bharat NCAP is there. Now, the manufacturers and people can decide. We’ll leave it to them.”
On being asked by Sorabjee to confirm that the rule will indeed not be mandatory, he said, “We do not need to make it mandatory. We do not want to make the rule mandatory. The star rating and Bharat NCAP are sufficient.”
The veteran politician also noted that people had become ‘cautious’ regarding road safety.
What is Bharat NCAP?
The much-awaited Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) was launched by the Union transport minister on August 22. An indigenous car crash test facility, it aims to improve road safety and car standards, and will be implemented from next month.
Besides India, four countries – the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea – have indigenous car crash test programmes.
(This news is published through a syndicated feed courtesy Hindustan Times)
