Nitin Gadkari backtracks on 'six airbags must in cars' statement

In 2022, he had said the Government of India had made it mandatory for passenger cars to have six airbags and the rule was slated to come into effect from October 2023.

The government will not make six airbags mandatory for cars, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday.

"We don't want to make six airbags rule for cars mandatory," Gadkari said at the ACMA annual session here.

Last year on September 29, the government deferred the implementation of the proposal to make six airbags mandatory in passenger cars by one year to October 1, 2023.

The government had earlier planned to make six airbags mandatory in eight-seater vehicles for enhanced safety of occupants from October 1, 2022.

"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 mandating a minimum of 6 Airbags in Passenger Cars (M-1 Category) w.e.f 01st October 2023," Gadkari had said in a tweet.

The minister had further asserted that the safety of all passengers travelling in motor vehicles irrespective of their cost and variants is the foremost priority.

An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system which interferes between the occupant and the vehicle's body during a collision, thereby preventing serious injuries.