Bharat NCAP To Be Introduced Tomorrow: Here’s What To Expect

The Bharat NCAP will give a crash-test rating to new cars for both adult occupant protection and child occupant protection

• Bharat NCAP to be similar to the international new car assessment programs like Global NCAP and Latin NCAP.

• Carmakers to send their cars, measuring up to 3.5 tonnes, for testing on a voluntary basis.

• A new testing facility is also likely to have been set up to conduct these assessments.

• A couple of Indian carmakers might even announce the Bharat NCAP ratings achieved by some of their cars.

If there’s one thing our automotive industry is yet to locally standardise, it is the crash test assessments. There are various international institutions and new car assessment programs (NCAPs) like the Global NCAP, Euro NCAP and even Latin NCAP which put new cars through stringent safety checks and give them both a score and a rating based on their performance. Reports of the Indian government planning our own NCAP (called the Bharat NCAP) surfaced online in early 2022. Now, it’s been confirmed that Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, will launch the Bharat NCAP on August 22, 2023.

What Could Be Announced?

We expect the Transport Ministry to reveal not just the details and parameters for the Bharat NCAP, but the newly set up Indian testing facility as well. We can also expect an Indian carmaker or two to announce the Bharat NCAP crash-tested ratings of either one or multiple models. The transport ministry is also likely to detail all the steps involved in its tests.

Aiming For Global Standards

Back in 2022, Union Minister Gadkari had said, “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.”

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Bharat NCAP Details

The new Indian crash-test assessment programme will measure the safety parameters of vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tonnes or 3500kg. Carmakers can voluntarily get their cars tested under this programme, as per the proposed Automotive Industry Standards 197 (AIS-197) document. According to AIS-197, the Bharat NCAP will include the offset front impact test, side impact test and pole side impact test. The tests will award them with star ratings for adult occupant protection (AOP) and child occupant protection (COP).

A previous government document had suggested that the ratings could include mandatory features such as six airbags, electronic stability control (ESC), 3-point seatbelts for all passengers, and advanced emergency braking system. So if these features are standard in the to-be-tested car, it might score better ratings.

Currently Mandated Safety Measures

For now, all cars in India are required to have dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, rear parking assist, front seatbelt reminder, and speed alert system. The government is already working on making six airbags a mandatory requirement on cars that can seat up to eight passengers. It is also looking at making select advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) as standard.

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