The government of India is considering a proposal to introduce a star rating programme for new passenger cars in the country. The ratings will be given out based on the safety features that the cars might come with. The Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Pon Radhakrihsnan informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply, “Proposal of Bharat NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) - a star rating programme of new passenger cars based on safety performance is being reviewed by the government.”
The programme is proposed to be implemented on a voluntary basis initially by car manufacturers who rate the safety performance of the car mainly in offset frontal crash, child safety requirements, slide impact crash, seat belt reminder and pedestrian safety requirements. In the past, it was seen that Indian cars have scored poorly during crash tests performed under new car assessment programme which were conducted by Global NCAP.
Post implementation of star rating programme in the country, new car buyers will have a better insight on the products they plan to opt for. To make new cars safer and reliable in the coming years, the government has notified mandatory crash norms for front and side impact crash in line with UNICEF regulation for implementation in India. The norms for new car models is applicable from October 2017 and for all car model it will be applicable from 2019.
