Union government has started the process of making six airbags mandatory from October 1, 2022. Airbags will be made mandatory for all cars being sold in India.

Highlights

• Government issued a draft notification and asked for public comments and stakeholders’ comments on the proposed rule.
• This notification is a follow-up to appeal made by Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari on August 3, 2021, to car manufacturers for providing 2 airbags across all variants of vehicles, one for the driver and other for co-passenger in front seat.
• Rule for airbags for driver’s seat was made mandatory from July 1, 2019. Rule for one airbag for co-passenger came into effect from January 1, 2022.

GSR notification

Though, many Indian cars have six airbags in their top variants already. Now, government have approved a draft GSR notification for making minimum of 6 airbags compulsory. This decision was taken for minimising the impact of frontal and lateral collisions to the occupants seated in front as well as rear compartments.  4 additional airbags be mandated in M1 vehicle category.

M1 vehicle category refers

M1 vehicle category refers to passenger cars having a maximum of eight seats in addition to driver’s seat. It includes sedans, hatchbacks, MUVs and SUVs.