The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, leading industry body in the country were of the opinion that there sould be uniform standard for auto components for Original Equipment Manufacturers as well as after sales to address the issue of counterfeits in market, according to a PTI report.
The Indian automobile industry has been netogiating with the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways, Government of India regarding this issue. 'We have been asking for the same standards (Automotive Industry Standards) as applicable to OEMs, specially for safety critical components, to be applicable to after market as well,' SIAM Director General Vishnu Mathur said. According to the official if a critical component of a vehicle is being replaced by a counterfeit during after sales, it has a major bearing both on safety and environment..jpg)
Mathur was speaking on the sidelines of an event on 'Anti-Counterfeiting' jointly organised by Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in New Delhi yesterday. Currently, Automotive Industry Standards (AIS) was applicable only on OEMs and not on aftermarket, noted the report.
'AIS standards are quite dynamic. They keep on changing considering the technological developments, so we would like to see the AIS norms to be applicable to the after market too,' Mathur urged. For the components sold in the replacement market, the Bureau of Indian Standards is applied.
Joint Secretary in the Department of Heavy Industry Ambuj Sharma was of the opinion that there was a need for creation of a special cell for reducing the counterfeit cases. The cell could be funded both by the government and industry, he added. Sharma also asked the automobile industry to come out with a time bound roadmap to suggest ways to tackle counterfeits in the auto component sector, added the report.
