MoRTH: Two-wheeler helmets must bear ISI mark from June 1, 2021

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has passed a notification stating that all helmets must bear an ISI mark, post June 1, 2021.

• Notification is termed ‘Helmet for riders of Two Wheeler Motor Vehicles (Quality Control) Order, 2020’

• No clarity on whether the proposed 1,200gm helmet weight limit has been removed

Back in 2018, the government notified that it was going to make it compulsory for all helmets to comply with BIS standards and that they must carry the ISI mark. However, as part of this notification, the government also wanted to lower the maximum allowed weight of a helmet to 1,200gm. This was a terrible move as it meant that almost all imported full-face helmets wouldn’t be permitted to be sold in India, even if the manufacturers were willing to test them to meet the BIS standards – only those built from exotic and very expensive materials like carbon fibre can weigh lower than 1,200gm.

Naturally, there was a big hue and cry and the Indian motorcycle enthusiast community rose to the occasion. Thousands sent in their feedback via emails to the concerned government body and the government seemed to have taken heed, because there was no further talk on the subject until earlier this month when a notification had been released. Now, another more recent notification, dated November 26, 2020, states that two-wheeler helmets “ shall bear the Standard Mark under a license from the Bureau of Indian Standards as per Scheme-I of Schedule-II of BIS (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018” and that this shall come into effect from June 1, 2021.

Unfortunately, there is no information on whether the 1,200gm weight rule will be brought into action as well, or if the government has decided not to impose it. We certainly hope that it’s the latter; we shall update this space as soon as we find out.