Delhi: June 25: The new car safety assessment program, Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP), which proposes a mechanism of awarding ‘Star Ratings’ to automobiles based upon their performance in crash tests, will be rolled out from April 1, 2023, an official statement said on Saturday.
Bharat NCAP rating will provide consumers an indication of the level of protection offered to occupants by evaluating the vehicle in the areas of (a) Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) (b) Child Occupant Protection (COP) and (c) Safety Assist Technologies (SAT).
The vehicle shall be assigned a star rating from one to five stars, based on scoring against various tests undertaken as per AIS 197.
It introduces the concept of safety rating of passenger cars and empowers consumers to take informed decisions. It will promote export worthiness of the cars produced by OEMs in the country and increase the domestic customer’s confidence in these vehicles .
Additionally the program will encourage manufacturers to provide advanced safety technologies to earn higher ratings.
It is applicable on Type Approved motor vehicles of category M1 [motor vehicles used for the carriage of passengers, comprising not more than eight seats, in addition to driver’s seat] with gross vehicle weight less than 3.5 Tonnes, manufactured or imported in the country, in accordance with the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS)-197, as amended from time to time.
The standard is aligned with global benchmarks and it is beyond minimum regulatory requirements.
The testing of vehicles for this program will be carried out at Testing Agencies, with the necessary infrastructure, referred to in Rule 126 of CMVR 1989.
Minister for Road Transport & Highways in the Government of India Nitin Gadkari said, ‘Star Rating of Indian Cars based on Crash Tests is extremely crucial not only to ensure structural and passenger safety in cars, but to also increase the export-worthiness of Indian automobiles’.
