Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), has approved the draft notification to implement Bharat NCAP (New Car Assessment Program), which will grant safety star ratings to cars in India based on their performance in the crash tests. That said, the govt will now amend the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR 1989) to have provisions for Bharat NCAP and this shall be aligned with the global crast test protocols. It will come into effect from 1st April 2023.
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As per the Government, only M1 type of vehicles (passenger vehicles with up to 9 seats) with a gross weight less than 3.5 tonnes will be crash-tested by Bharat NCAP as per Automotive Industry Standard (AIS)-197 and will provide a star rating from one to five by evaluating the vehicle safety in three broad categories: Adult Occupant Protection (AOP), Child Occupant Protection (COP), and Safety Assist Technologies (SAT).
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The Government believes Bharat NCAP will assist customers in opting for safer cars based on their star ratings. This will also provoke healthy competition among carmakers to build safer vehicles by offering advanced safety technologies and ensuring structural rigidity of automobiles to obtain higher ratings.
Currently, the Global NCAP is one of the foremost campaigners for sweetening car safety in our country. Its In test assessment protocols are going to get stricter from July 2022.
In other news, Nitin Gadkari, during a conference in New Delhi, has expressed his displeasure over some brands for compromising on the safety and structural integrity of their India-spec cars in comparison to their international counterparts. His ministry has recently taken a decision to standardize the provision of six airbags, ESC, and three-point seat belts in all cars. Sharing his views on this decision, Maruti Suzuki’s Chairman, RC Bhargava suggested not to mandatory Bharat NCAP for all cars.
