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The Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (BNCAP) was launched by the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari. The BNCAP will be effective in the country from October 1, 2023. With the introduction of this program to assess the safety features offered in any car, India became the fifth country in the world to have its indigenous car crash safety program, after the US, Japan, China and South Korea. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways believe that with the implementation of BNCAP, there will be a significant decline in number of accidents on roads along with an improvement in the safety measures introduced in vehicles manufactured in the country. It would be interesting to know that 30 car models from different manufacturers have provided their vehicles to the agency for testing and rating their vehicles.

 

 

The highly promoted BNCAP encourages car makers in India to get their vehicles tested and rated on a scale of five-star rating according to the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 197. It is reported that Bharat NCAP is developed keeping the testing and evaluation standards of Global NCAP and Euro NCAP. However, while doing this the agency has strictly considered the driving conditions and regulations in India.

 

Similarities And Differences Between Bharat NCAP and Global NCAP:

 

The Global NCAP is an apex body. It gets funds from charities and car companies. The BNCAP is a government-operated and controlled agency. 

 

The cars tested in GNCAP crash tests have to score a minimum of 34 points, (consisting of 16 points for front crash test, 16 points for side impact and two points for seatbelt reminders). A car that successfully clears all these tests is given a five-star rating for adult occupant protection. The cars tested under BNCAP will have to score 27 points for adult protection and 41 points for child occupant protection category to score five-star ratings. That means a car scoring five-star ratings on the BNCAP test will not receive the same rating on the GNCAP test.

 

Speaking about the types of crash tests, the protocols of BNCAP are developed and designed in accordance with the GNCAP. The vehicles under BNCAP will have to undergo three crash tests including offset deformable barrier frontal impact test, side impact test and pole side impact test to calculate the ratings. Apart from this, the BNCAP may also ask for the integration of six airbags, three-point seatbelts for all passengers, an improved emergency braking system, electronic stability control (ESC), etc. mandatory in all vehicles.

 

Finally the speed test. During the GNCAP, the frontal offset is conducted at the speed of 102 kmph, while moving the vehicle towards a deformable. During the test, the car and the barriers are kept at 40 per cent overlap to conduct the test between two vehicles at a speed of 80 kmph. Apart from this, there are two more tests conducted to assess the side impact. Under the BNCAP test, the frontal crash test is conducted at a speed of 64 kmph, whereas the side and pole tests are conducted at a speed of 50 kmph and 29 kmph respectively. It means that the testing speeds in the BNCAP test are lesser than the testing speeds of GNCAP.