The regulation mandating six airbags in passenger vehicles that was to be implemented on Oct. 1 won't be needed as the industry has implemented it under the Bharat NCAP voluntary car testing programme, according to Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
"Due to the star rating system, all companies have accepted the standard. So, there's no need to go forward with the regulation," Gadkari said on the sidelines of the 63rd annual session of the Automobile Components Manufacturers Association of India on Wednesday.
In a draft notification issued last year, the ministry proposed making six airbags mandatory in all passenger vehicles with a seating capacity of up to eight passengers.
The regulation was originally intended to be implemented on Oct. 1, 2022. However, after the industry asked for more time, citing higher costs and limited availability of semiconductors, the deadline was pushed to Oct. 1 this year.
Gadkari launched the Bharat New Car Assessment Programme to enhance road safety in the country last month.
The evaluation of the vehicle will include an offset deformable barrier frontal impact test, a side impact test, and a pole-side impact test to assess the safety of the vehicle for adult and child occupancy.
The vehicle will be given star ratings after crash test evaluation, ranging from 0 to 5, with the latter indicating the highest safety standard.
However, it comes with a caveat, as automakers will send the base variant of a given model for testing on a voluntary basis. The programme will begin on Oct. 1, and the vehicles will be tested based on the automotive industry standard 197.
To reduce fatalities by 50% until 2025, the government is looking to overhaul the safety systems of the Indian automobile industry.
"Every year, we have five lakh accidents where around 1.5 lakh people die. And the loss to (the) GDP is 3.14% due to it," Gadkari had said at the launch of Bharat NCAP.
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