The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will now expedite the policy for mandatory installation of six airbags in all passenger vehicles.
The cost of installing four extra airbags will be Rs 9,000 to Rs 10,000, according to government sources.
Each airbag costs between Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,000, and the cost of modifying the vehicle will be in the range of Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000.
Sources aware of the development said modifying the vehicle for fitting four more airbags could be a challenge.
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Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari had earlier tweeted, "In the interest of passenger safety, I have also appealed to all private vehicle manufacturers to compulsorily provide a minimum of six airbags across all variants and segments of the vehicle."
All vehicles manufactured in India mandatorily need to have two airbags installed for the front row co-passengers, as per the new rules which came into force from January 1.
India accounts for nearly 10 per cent of all road crash victims globally, as per a recent World Bank report.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a federal agency of the United States of America, states that a combination of airbags and seat belts bring down the risk of death in frontal crashes by 61 per cent, with airbags alone accounting for 34 per cent reduction in fatalities.
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