New reflector law: 4 more manufacturing units to come up to meet demand

LUDHIANA: The bicycle industry is upbeat over Centre government’s notification deferring the date of implementation of the new reflectors law. Keeping in view four months left in compliance with the new regulations, industrialists have started making necessary arrangements.
In order to meet the shortage of required quality of the reflectors, new units are being setup in Ludhiana that will help in required supply of reflectors and rates are also likely to come down after the units start functioning.
Giving more information, DS Chawla, president of United Cycle and Manufacturers Association (UCPMA), said, “Our industry was never against the new reflector law and we just wanted some minor changes and time to comply to it. As we have got time till June 30 from the government, our industry has started making all necessary arrangements.
There are four units that are currently manufacturing prescribed quality of reflectors and keeping in view the current shortage, four more factories will be operational soon after which these reflectors will be available in abundance and at even lesser rate.”
Chawla added, “Besides this, we are simultaneously working to get concession in certificate of conformity (COC) charges of approximately Rs. 57,000 per annum for the small industry. As concession of 80% in COC charges was given by Union ministers Som Parkash and Piyush Goyal to micro units, we are trying that small industry also gets same benefit.
On behalf of UCPMA, we have requested all bicycle and parts manufacturers and assemblers to start registering themselves with Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to get the COC issued timely before July 1 when the new laws come into effect.”
According to Pradeep Wadhawan, former senior vice president of UCPMA, “Deferment of new reflector law till June 30 is nothing less than a breather for the bicycle industry as we have at least got a few months to apply for COC and by then there will be adequate supply of required type of reflectors in the market.
However we strongly feel that the Centre government should make COC totally free and it should be self-certification instead of going through such huge number of formalities. We are hoping that in the coming months the Union government will pay attention to this demand of the industry too.”