New Delhi, February 8, 2013: The first seminar of ACMA Automechanika 2013 took off with delegates being addressed by Surinder Kanwar, ACMA president and chairman and managing director of Bharat Gears, and Harish Lakshman, ACMA vice-chairman and managing director, Rane TRW Steering Systems. It also included an address by Soumitra Bhattacharya, joint MD of Bosch Ltd and chairman of ACMA's Consumer Affairs & Anti-Counterfeiting Committee, who said that ACMA is working closely with the government on a white paper that will make sales of spurious automotive parts a non-bailable offence. He said ACMA is working on a process-based solution to lower the incidence of spurious parts in the auto sector, which he said was about 35 percent of the Rs 33,000 crore Indian aftermarket.



In his address, Kapur said that ACMA itself has taken steps to take its Asli-Naqli campaign to smaller towns and cities of the country to grow awareness about the dangers of using fake components and the many benefits that accrue from genuine parts.

These comments are important in the context of the fact that India has the dubious reputation of having the highest accident rate in the world. India apparently has one accident every one minute and a death every four minute. It has been estimated at 20 percent of vehicles with fake parts cause these accidents.



The real impact The losses incurred due to spurious components are huge, both to industry and the government. At present, in India, one out of three automotive components is a fake one — a real challenge for industry to overcome. Counterfeit components result in:

• An estimated revenue loss of around Rs 3,100 crore per annum.

• Employment loss of around 1.15 million per annum.

• Additional consumption of fuel worth Rs 600 crore per annum.

• Results in additional 10-15 percent vehicle pollution.

• 20-25 percent increase in road accidents.

• Frequent vehicle breakdown and repair jobs.

BRIAN DE SOUZA