The nano mindset

Woof. The flow of good news has been so intense in the last few weeks that there seems to be some sort of mass euphoria across India. The stock market seems to have taken a turn for the better, the economy’s scorching growth rate is as intact as ever, Mallika Sherawat has bared most of it in FHM and Dhoni’s men have brought us the World Cup in cricket. In this happy milieu, it is almost difficult to remember that we are, after all, a poor country. Even the corruption scandals reported/imagined by the media cited such big numbers that people were nodding approvingly that there is so much money in the country. All we needed now for balance was a miserable piece of news that will make us sober and remind us we are still Third World. That news has now come. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has obliged us with a very backward, anti-consumer statement that should do the trick. Its president, Pawan Goenka, has said that formulating a product recall policy for the automobile sector is not on the priority list of discussions at the lobby group. And in any case, he averred, recalls are a company-specific issue and it is difficult for SIAM to regulate them. By any stretch, this is a shocking and irresponsible thing to say. But Goenka will most certainly get away with this statement that his counterpart in a more advanced country would have been lynched for. Why is a product recall policy important? Because it can save lives. In the United States, deaths and injuries due to faulty consumer products have come down by 30 percent in the last 30 years thanks to robust consumer safety laws. The government and industry bodies there work closely to ensure products are recalled where necessary. A company not recalling faulty products on time could end up paying several times the value of the sales it so achieved in damages. It could even lead to bankruptcy.

 Punit Paranjpe/Reuters

In the last couple of years, Toyota has been in the limelight for its product recalls. In all, it recalled as many as 5.2 million cars, more than twice the number of cars sold in India in an entire year. It was Toyota that initiated the recalls after reports said some cars experienced unintended acceleration. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and NASA carried out a detailed inquiry, at the end of which it was found that it was not an electrical error but a mechanical one. In many cases, it was the driver’s fault. Despite all this, Toyota is still facing criminal and civil prosecution in the US. Contrast this with what happens in India. A couple of Tata Nano cars caught fire, at least once while the proud buyer was taking it home from the dealership. A Forbes India investigation revealed actual design adaptation and integration problems that could lead to such incidents. But to this day, Tata refuses to encourage a public debate on the safety of Nano. It doesn’t collaborate with journalists that want to know the truth. Where customers have complained, Tata has quietly fixed the problem and returned the cars. No official recall, no details put in the public domain. And there has been no interest on the part of SIAM or the government to force Tata to recall the cars and initiate a review of its design. Maybe, the powers-that-be think that you don’t deserve better if you pay pittance and buy a car that has the engine under the rear seat and the battery under the driver’s! Maruti has done better. It has voluntarily initiated a programme to repair 13,157 diesel cars over an engine problem. The company’s chairman, R.C. Bhargava, has openly supported a product recall policy for India. Toyota’s Indian officials, too, have recently said they would proactively inform consumers if something is wrong in their cars. Given this industry-wide enthusiasm for product recall—save a few companies—it is puzzling that SIAM should think it is not a high-priority issue. And look at the timing of the statement. India’s car sales have reached a record 2.5 million units in 2010-11 and are truly on their way to surpass nine million by the end of the decade. Is SIAM waiting for every Indian to get a car before it can discuss a product recall policy? or are they waiting for a Gandhian leader to go on a fast-unto-death for consumer safety? To be fair, the lack of a proper product recall policy is not confined to cars. From food products to toys to home appliances, there is simply no accountability on the part of the manufacturers to take back faulty goods. The government continues to let down consumers in this regard. But why do the big boys at SIAM, who think it is their job to advice the finance minister on how to draw up the budget, think consumer safety is not their business? And one question to you: Have you ever used a product that was unsafe, faulty or different from what was promised? What was your experience when you tried to get it redressed?