Gadkari wrote on Twitter in this regard that the ‘Bharat New Car Assessment Program’ (Bharat NCAP) will give customers in the country the option to choose a safer car based on star-rating and will serve as a consumer-centric platform. It will also promote a healthy competition among Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) for manufacturing safer vehicles.
“I have approved the draft GSR notification to introduce Bharat NCAP. Under this, vehicles in India will be given star rating on the basis of their performance in crash tests.
The Union Minister said that star rating of Indian cars based on ‘crash’ tests is extremely important not only to ensure structural and passenger safety in cars but also to increase exports of Indian vehicles.
Gadkari said the testing guidelines of Bharat NCAP will be aligned with global crash testing regulations. It will be included in the existing Indian regulation. This will enable OEMs to get their vehicles tested at their internal testing facilities in India.
He said that Bharat NCAP will prove to be an important step in making our automobile industry self-reliant with the objective of making the country the top automobile hub of the world.
The program will encourage manufacturers to voluntarily participate in a safety test evaluation program and incorporate higher safety levels into new car models.
Under the proposed assessment, a star rating will be given from one to five stars.
The objective of this initiative is to make transport safe in the country from accident.
Gadkari had recently said that the government aims to reduce road accident deaths by 50 per cent by 2024.