India’s Car Safety Rating, Bharat NCAP, To Be Launched By The Government

India to have its own car safety rating.

On 22 August, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, will be launching the new Bharat NCAP – Bharat New Car Assessment Programme. This would be India’s car testing rating, “a tool to the car customers to make a comparative assessment of crash safety of motor vehicles available in the market”, the press release said.

Under this scheme, the ministry said that, the manufacturers of cars, can “voluntarily offer their cars tested as per Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197”. This can be used by customers, to compare the standards of safety of vehicles and make a wise decision as, based upon the performance, cars will be awarded star ratings of Adult Occupants and Child Occupants (AOP and COP).

The scheme aims to drive the demand for safe cars and encourage manufacturers to build the same as per customer preference. This could aid in manufacturing highly safe Indian cars, improving their export potentials, which can enter global markets. NCAP “is expected to develop a safety sensitive car market in India,” the press release said.

Countries like US, Japan, China, Korea has NCAPs. Though, it is voluntary now in India, this could later become mandatory.