Government of India backtracks on its proposal to make vehicle recalls mandatory
In a dramatic u-turn, the Minister of State for Heavy Industries, G M Siddeshwara has denied any proposal to make it mandatory for automobile manufacturers to recall vehicles if any manufacturing defects are observed.
Honda had recalled the Brio to fix faulty airbags
In the draft of the Road Transport and Safety Bill 2015, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had proposed a mandatory recall policy for defective vehicles for the safety of customers and improving vehicle manufacturing standards.
In India, vehicle recalls are done voluntarily. Manufacturers such as Honda, Toyota, Maruti and many more have recalled vehicles for defects in critical components such as airbags, brake master cylinders, vital sensors etc.
Maruti Suzuki had recalled the Ritz to inspect and fix the wiring harness
The voluntary recall policy was introduced by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in 2012. As per the policy, if a manufacturer deems a particular batch of vehicles as unsafe to drive/ride due to a manufacturing defect, it may recall the vehicle and repair/replace the part free of cost. Since this inititaive from SIAM, over seven lakh vehicles have been recalled in India for various reasons.
The Automotive Research Association of India formulates regulations for automotive recalls
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