In a big boost to the road safety campaign in India, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari will launch the much-awaited Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP) on August 22, 2023. This is for the first time India will get its own independent crash test programme, where the government will test newly launched cars on various parameters to assess their road worthiness. This programme is also a significant step forward in the Government’s commitment to improve road safety through raising the safety standards of motor vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes in India.
Currently, the cars sold in India are not assessed for road safety by any government or private entity in India. However, Global NCAP, a South Africa based non profit body performs crash test on new cars sold in India under their SaferCarsForIndia campaign. However, the tests performed by the Global NCAP are mostly voluntarily and not mandatory by the govt.
The Bharat NCAP programme aims to provide a tool to the car customers to make a comparative assessment of crash safety of motor vehicles available in the market. Under this programme, car manufacturers can voluntarily offer their cars tested as per Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197. The programme is expected to develop a safety sensitive car market in India.
Based on the performance of the car in the tests, car will be awarded star ratings for Adult Occupants (AOP) and Child Occupant (COP). Potential car customers can refer to these star ratings to compare the safety standards of different vehicles and accordingly make their purchase-decision.
It is expected that the demand for safer cars will increase, encouraging the car manufacturers to comply with customer needs. A press release on PIB mentions that with high safety standards, Indian cars will be able to compete better in the global market, increasing the export potential of the car manufacturers in India.