Bharat NCAP Gets Green Light, Vehicles To Get Ratings From April 2023

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, has accepted the proposed notification to implement Bharat NCAP (New Car Assessment Program). Automobiles in India will be given star ratings based on their performance in crash testing, which will take into account existing Indian norms and driving conditions. The Bharat NCAP project was initially introduced in 2016.

Gadkari stated in a series of tweets that Bharat NCAP will be a consumer-centric platform that allows customers to choose safer automobiles based on their star ratings, while also encouraging healthy competition among Indian manufacturers. “Star rating of Indian cars based on crash tests is extremely crucial not just for the safety of passengers, but also to increase the export-worthiness of Indian automobiles,” he said.

Gadkari stated that the Bharat NCAP testing process will be synchronised with worldwide crash test standards while taking into account existing Indian rules and that it will allow Indian manufacturers to have their vehicles examined at our own in-house testing facilities. “Bharat NCAP will prove to be a critical instrument in making our automobile industry Atma Nirbhar (self-sufficient), with the mission of making India the number 1 automobile hub in the world.”

Abhay Mannikar, the advisor at the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), an autonomous body affiliated with the Union Ministry of Heavy Industries, stated that documentation for Bharat NCAP is complete and that the time has come for their implementation.

Furthermore, Bharat NCAP will test and rate CNG and electric vehicles based on their collision performance, rather than just passive safety tests and internal combustion engine vehicles. Unlike the Global NCAP formats that grant separate star ratings for adult and child protection, we expect Bharat NCAP to opt for a single unified rating system for both adult and child occupant protection.