The Indian Road Minister, Nitin Gadkari recently inaugurated the Command-and-Control Centre of Bharat NCAP at the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) in Pune. This Centre will serve as the administrative setup for awarding star ratings for vehicles tested under the Bharat NCAP Vehicle Safety Regime, which was launched on August 22 in a bid to improve safety standards for automobile manufacturers in India.
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This Centre will serve as the administrative setup for awarding star ratings for vehicles tested under the BNCAP
BNCAP test protocol draws heavily from Global NCAP and Euro NCAP standards and will judge all vehicles based on three parameters – adult occupant protection, child occupant protection and fitment of safety assist technologies. Under the program, manufacturers can voluntarily submit vehicles from their portfolio to be tested, which will be awarded star ratings ranging from a minimum of one star to a maximum of five stars based on their performance. The crash tests will include a frontal impact test (crashing the vehicle into an offset deformable barrier at a speed of 64 kmph), a side impact test (conducted at 50 kmph) and a pole side impact test (compulsory for vehicles to achieve a rating of 3 stars and above). Over 30 models have already been nominated for BNCAP testing by their respective manufacturers.
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Vehicles will be subjected to three impact tests and will receive ratings ranging from one star to five stars.
Nitin Gadkari had recently stated that it will no longer be mandatory for cars to have 6 airbags. The minister had earlier approved a draft notification in January 2022 that would make 6-airbags mandatory for all cars across India. However, the regulation, which was supposed to be implemented on October 1, 2022, was postponed for another year, until the following announcement. He also went on to state that with the onset of the BNCAP testing program, most manufacturers have already made 6 airbags standard across their lineup, which will provide them with higher chances of receiving a 4-star or 5-star rating.
