Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP)

About Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP)

• It is an indigenous star-rating system for crash testing cars, under which vehicles will be assigned between one to five stars, indicating their safety in a collision. 
• Bharat NCAP is an ambitious joint project between the Government of India (GoI) and Global NCAP, the regulatory body behind the safety crash test ratings.
• Objective: To help consumers make an informed decision before purchasing a car, thereby spurring demand for safer cars.
• Under the Bharat NCAP, cars voluntarily nominated by automobile manufacturers will be crash tested as per protocols laid down in the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197.
• Applicability:
  • The programme is applicable to passenger vehicles with not more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat, with a gross vehicle weight not exceeding 3,500 kg.
  • Only the base model of a particular variant will be tested.
  • Besides internal combustion engine (ICE) models, CNG cars as well as battery-powered electric vehicles are eligible to undergo the safety test.
• Assignment of rating:
  • Vehicles tested under the Bharat NCAP are evaluated across three critical safety domains: adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, and safety assist technologies.
  • The test program is based on the AIS-197 standards. The selected test units will be sent to the nearest testing centre in coordination with the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT).
  • Each car will go through five key tests: frontal impact, side impact, side pole impact, electronic stability control, and pedestrian-compliant front design. 
  • The tests will be performed with crash dummies and will also rate the safety features of cars.
  • Following these tests, cars receive a rating of one to five stars, reflecting their safety performance.
  • In contrast to Global NCAP's separate Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) and Child Occupant Protection (COP) ratings, Bharat NCAP will offer a unified rating.
• It is a voluntary programme under which the cost of the car for assessment for star rating and the cost of such assessment are borne by the respective vehicle manufacturer or importer.
• Unlike in other countries where the NCAP is carried out by non-government entities, there will be a Bharat NCAP Authority in India. The authority will also host the safety ratings of all new car models on a website for public knowledge.
• Though it will be optional for the vehicle manufacturers to submit their cars for an assessment, the central government can also ask the authority to select a particular variant of a model for assessment "in interest of public safety" at any of the designated crash test centres. 

Q1) What is Global NCAP?

The Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP) is a major project of the Towards Zero Foundation which is a UK registered charity. It serves as a platform for co-operation among new car assessment programmes worldwide and promotes the universal adoption of the United nation’s most important motor vehicle safety standards worldwide. 

Source: Bharat NCAP completes maiden round of crash tests, results expected later this month