India will introduce its own vehicle crash test ratings called the Bharat NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) in October.
Earlier, crash test ratings of cars made in India were given by the Global NCAP, a UK-registered charity that promotes the sale of safer cars in developing markets by empowering consumers with information about the safety of vehicles.
The ministry of road transport and highways together with Global NCAP formulated the crash test ratings of Bharat NCAP, which will be on adult occupant safety, child occupant safety and fitment of safety assist technology.
Cars tested under the programme will bear the Bharat NCAP logo and a sticker denoting its rating.
The announcement confirming the approval of the BNCAP official notification was made by Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday.
He announced that Bharat NCAP has already received over 30 requests for testing models and he is happy to see the automotive industry’s acceptance of the programme.
Gadkari also acknowledged that besides car safety, road engineering, which is also a big problem, is being addressed by his ministry.
The cost of testing a car under the Bharat NCAP programme will be around Rs 60 lakh, whereas a similar test would require around Rs 2.5 crore if done overseas.
David Ward, executive director for Global NCAP, said in the last decade, India was the most improved country among the G20 countries in terms of implementation of automotive safety systems.
