ANS: The government deferred the proposal to make six airbags mandatory in cars by 1st of October 2023 on Thursday.
In a series of tweets, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said the decision has been taken considering the global supply chain constraints being faced by the auto industry and its impact on the macroeconomic scenario.
“Safety of all passengers travelling in motor vehicles irrespective of their cost and variants is the foremost priority,” he added.
Earlier on January 14, 2022, the government had issued a draft notification; which mandates that vehicles of category M1 (with upto 8 seats) manufactured after October 1, 2022, have mandatory 6 airbags; shall be fitted with two side/side torso airbags, one each for the persons occupying front row outboard seating positions, and two side curtain/tube airbags, one each for the persons occupying outboard seating positions.
Though, few automakers opposed the rule to make 6 airbags mandatory in vehicles stating it will add an additional cost burden to the customers, who are already demoralized by the recent price hikes due to the rising input cost. On the other hand, few automakers started rolling out standard 6 airbags in their new vehicles.