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New Delhi : Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said passengers' safety is very important and under the revised Bus Body Code, new sleeper coach buses will not be registered by the government without physical and video inspection of fire detection systems and emergency exits.

To curb rising fire accidents, the government has recently decided that sleeper coach buses will only be manufactured by automobile companies or facilities accredited by the Centre.

"Safety of passengers in buses is very, very important," Gadkari said while delivering a keynote address at the Busworld India Conclave 2026.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has already implemented the revised Bus Body Code from September 1, 2025.

"According to the new safety regime, we will check each and every individual sleeper coach bus, which will be uploaded on the Vaahan portal.

"Without physical and video inspection of fire detection systems, emergency exits with hammers, emergency lighting, and new sleeper coach buses will not get registered," the road transport and highways minister said.

The Bus Body Code of India is AIS-052, a mandatory standard that specifies safety, structural, and design requirements for all bus bodies built in the country.

The standard was introduced to regulate the previously unorganised bus body-building sector, improve passenger and driver safety, and ensure uniformity in construction.

In recent years, several fire accidents involving sleeper coaches have been reported.

The incidents highlight the same persistent dangers: flammable interiors, blocked or narrow exits, missing or faulty emergency windows, no fire safety gear, precious little time to escape, and inadequately trained staff.

The minister said he is not against old bus body builders, but the safety of people is very important.

"My suggestion to you is to modernise your factory, accept all the new technology and make the buses body up to the mark," he said.