Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways launched the Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP) aiming to enhance road safety by elevating vehicle safety standards for up to 3.5-tonne vehicles in India.
Key points
- The new programme will be applicable to passenger vehicles with not more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat with gross vehicle weight not exceeding 3,500 kg.
- This program will commence from 1st Oct 2023 and will be based on Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197.
- Program aims to create ecosystem of competitive safety enhancements leading to increased awareness among consumers. Consumers can take an informed decision by making a comparative assessment on vehicle performance under crash test conditions.
- The Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP) is modelled on the Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP), a project of the Towards Zero Foundation, which is a U.K.-registered charity that promotes the universal adoption of the United Nation’s most important motor vehicle safety standards worldwide.
- A rating from one star to five stars will be assigned to a vehicle after an evaluation of three parameters — adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, and safety assist technologies present in the car.
- The programme is voluntary except in certain cases such as a base variant of a popular vehicle model (minimum clocked sale of 30,000 units), or when the Ministry recommends a model for testing based on market feedback or in the interest of public safety.
