India to get its own vehicle safety rating Bharat NCAP soon, confirms Nitin Gadkari

The government is working on mandating new safety standards to reduce road accidents and for the protection of both passengers in a vehicle and pedestrians on road.

Indian NCAP for safety tests of new vehicles has been in discussions for a while now. As per the latest updates, it can soon be in India. Currently, Indian cars are tested mainly by the Global NCAP to analyse their safety standards.

As per the new announcement by the Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, 'Bharat NCAP' will soon be launched in India. It will be an indigenous safety rating agency working on the similar standard as of Global NCAP and European NCAP.

The move will focus on helping the government reduce road accidents. Gadkari has emphasised the importance of reducing road accidents in the country, which currently account for over 1.50 lakh accidents per year, costing the country 3.1 per cent of its GDP. By 2025, the government hopes to have reduced the number of traffic accidents by half.

There have also been talks of new safety standards. As per this standard, the vehicle with 8 passengers will be mandated to have 6 airbags. The airbags will be distributed in the front and side of the vehicles for all three rows.

In addition, the new vehicles should have 3-point seat belts and an Automatic Emergency Braking System (ABES). The new safety standards have been devised with the help of public comment on the matter. However, there is no announcement on when these new safety standards will be mandated.

With these safety standards, equal importance has been given to the safety of pedestrians as well. The government has devised 12-point initiative for the necessary safety features.

The government is also focusing on enacting further safety requirements in accordance with international norms. Noise from electric vehicles will be used to alert other road users of their existence. This comes at a time when electric vehicle demand is increasing.

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