The Indian agency Bharat New Car Assessment Program (Bharat NCAP or BNCAP) is going to start crash testing of cars today to ascertain the safety of people in registered cars. So far, auto makers companies have registered about 30 models of cars for testing. However, no official information has been given as to which vehicle will be crash tested first.
Earlier on August 22, Union Minister of State for Road Transport Nitin Gadkari launched the BNCAP in Delhi. Following the event, the Command and Control Center was inaugurated on September 18 at the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) located in Chakan, Pune.
Crash Test To Be Done As Per Norms As Per Indian Conditions
The agency will crash test the cars on the norms set as per the Indian conditions and give them a safety rating. In this test, cars will be given a rating from 0 to 5 stars.
- O Rating: The car with the worst security system
- 5 Rating: The car with the best security system
Earlier Foreign Techniques Were Used To Decide Safety
Previously, cars’ safety used to be decided through standards of foreign agencies by Euro NCAP (UNCAP), Australian NCAP (ANCAP), Global NCAP (GNCAP) and Latin NCAP (LNCAP). These rating systems did not fit the Indian conditions. After that, the Centre started its rating system, BNCAP.
Testing is 75% less expensive than a local agency
Gadkari said, “Under Bharat-NCAP, the cost of vehicle testing in the country will be around Rs 60 lakh, whereas at the global level this cost is Rs 2.5 crore. This means that now companies will have to spend 75% less on getting testing done by a local agency.”
What will be the benefit of India NCAP?
The new rating system will give customers an option to choose a car with better safety. Also, competition among companies will increase to make safe cars in the country. They will not even have to send their car abroad for testing.
The results of the crash test can be seen on the website.
The center has formed a monitoring committee. It will analyze the testing of BNCAP. BNCAP will show star rating and test results on its website only after getting the approval of the monitoring committee.