New Delhi/Bangalore: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has informed the Supreme Court panel on road safety that they could complete the process of total ban on sales of non-ISI helmets in six months’ time. If this is enforced, then ISI helmet manufacturers in India are bound to witness huge growth in sales akin to PoS terminals post note ban.
ISI Helmet Manufacture Association (ISIHMA) welcomed the move based on the information provided by the senior officials in the transport ministry. The sale of non-ISI helmets for two-wheelers would become an offence by the end of this year, according to the official.
Reacting on the new development, Rajeev Kapur, President, ISIHMA said, “Looking at the current statistics, over 75 percent to 80 percent of helmets used by two-wheeler riders across India do not meet ISI standards. In our country, with two-wheelers accounting for more than 25 percent of the total road crash deaths, riders underestimate its role too. Despite the shocking revelations, they tend to buy cheap headwear, which does not protect them well.”
On the cost factor, he said, “To produce a single helmet as per BIS specification, the minimum making cost is Rs 300-400 and manufacturing a price less than Rs 300 is not viable.”
ISI helmets priced higher is one major reason why the helmet market is flooded with cheap and unreliable products, stated Kapur.
Indian government is likely to go ahead with the move to make it mandatory for all helmet manufacturers to obtain Indian Standards certification from Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to reduce road fatalities.
With the estimated demand for helmets of around 90 million units per annum, it would be a boom time for ISI helmet industry.
