Child Protection, Safety: All You Need To Know About The Bharat New Car Assessment Programme For Vehicles
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a notification that sets regulations for Bharat New Car Assessment Programme under which star ratings will be issued for automobiles based on their level of protection.
Bharat New Car Assessment Programme rating will provide consumers with 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).
Vehicles will be assigned star ratings
The vehicle shall be assigned a star rating from one to five stars, based on scoring against various tests undertaken as per the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197.
The new rule is applicable on Type Approved motor vehicles of category M1 [motor vehicles used for the carriage of passengers, comprising 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: it is beyond minimum regulatory requirements," the ministry said.
Bharat NCAP will be rolled out from April
The testing of vehicles for this programme will be carried out at testing agencies, with the necessary infrastructure, it added.
As per the notification issued on Saturday, Bharat NCAP will be rolled out from April 1, 2023.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said that Bharat-NCAP will serve as a consumer-centric platform allowing customers to opt for safer cars based on their ratings.
It will also promote healthy competition among original equipment manufacturers (OEM) in India to manufacture safer vehicles.
Will increase export-worthiness of cars
The Minister 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.
The testing protocol of Bharat NCAP shall be aligned with global crash-test protocols factoring in the existing Indian regulations, allowing OEMs to get their vehicles tested at India's own in-house testing facilities, Gadkari had said.
According to him, Bharat NCAP will prove to be a critical instrument in making our automobile industry Aatmanirbhar with the mission of making India the top automobile hub in the world.
Bharat NCAP will encourage manufacturers to participate voluntarily in the safety testing assessment programme and incorporate higher safety levels in new car models.
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