Bharat NCAP: Nitin Gadkari Launches India's First Crash Testing Programme

Nitin Gadkari during his address said, "This is the time when we have the highest priority for how we can save lives of the people, and road safety is the most important thing for that"

Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, on Tuesday launched the much-awaited Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP), aimed at improving road safety standards of motor vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes. Bharat NCAP will be implemented from October 1, 2023. Gadkari said the Bharat NCAP is India's own crash testing programme which aims to improve safety features in the vehicles, while adding that the country is facing two challenges, namely road accident and air pollution. Every year around 5 lakh accidents take place in India and 1.5 lakh deaths because of these accidents.

In his address, the minister said this is an important day for automobile industry and the society as it will improve the safety features of vehicles. The Bharat NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) mechanism has been prepared in a systematic way keeping all stakeholders' view into account, he said.

Under the programme, car manufacturers can voluntarily offer their vehicles tested as per the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197. Based on the performance of the car in the tests, the vehicle will be awarded star ratings on a scale of 0-5, for adult occupants (AOP) and child occupants (COP).

"This is the time when we have the highest priority for how we can save lives of the people, and road safety is the most important thing for that. Road engineering is a big problem somewhere; out total process of making detailed project report is a completely wrong methodology. We are trying our level best to educate our engineers about the types of mistakes we are repeating in road engineering," Gadkari said.

According to an official statement, 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.

"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. The programme is expected to develop a safety sensitive car market in India," the ministry for road, transport and highways said.

Last year, Gadkari had said that Bharat-NCAP would be a consumer centric platform that will offer customers the option to choose safer cars based on star ratings, promote healthy competition amongst automakers in India to manufacture safer vehicles and incorporate higher safety levels in new car models with regard to various identified parameters.

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