The government is planning to hold annual ?surprise checks? at auto makers? facilities across the country to ensure that all statutory norms under the Central Motor Vehicle Rules are met for all vehicles produced in India. The move, which requires a change in the inspection rules for official testing agencies such as the Automotive Research Association of India, has been felt necessary on the basis of learnings from General Motors? emissions data fudging issue, which was discovered last month.
A senior government official told FE the move will be a departure from the previous practice of giving a 10-day intimation to auto companies before official testing agencies come for annual checks. The system that?s currently followed is based on the European model.
?We are planning a flying squad, which will have a surprise element and there will be no advance notice. There is no change needed in the current laws, only a minor change in the inspection rules. Currently, it’s a goodwill gesture from our side to inform the companies, but it is obviously not working. With a such a system, other companies flouting rules may be caught as well,? the official said.
Under the current system, auto companies first apply for a type approval, under which the vehicle is sent to agencies such as ARAI for complete testing under CMVR parameters like fuel efficiency, emissions and safety.
In the second step called ‘Conformity of Production’, ARAI conducts random checks from the final assembly lines for each model from every company annually. In the second step, around three vehicles are taken by ARAI and tested to see if the production vehicle meets the originally declared parameters.
VG Ramakrishnan, MD at Frost & Sullivan, South Asia, said the move to start surprise checks may prove intrusive for the auto industry. ?Every company will have to pay for the fault of one company under such a system. This will create more regulatory framework involvement and may not be to the liking of the industry?.