Why in the news?

• The revised draft of Bharat NCAP was released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Bharat NCAP

• What is it?: Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP) is India’s indigenous vehicle safety rating system that gives star ratings (1–5) to passenger vehicles based on safety performance, similar to Global NCAP, Euro NCAP, and US NCAP.
• Launch: Launched by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in 2023.
• Objectives:
  • Improve road safety by encouraging production and purchase of safer vehicles.
  • Push automobile manufacturers to adopt global safety standards.
  • Reduce road accident fatalities (India accounts for ~11% of global road deaths).
  • Align India with UN crash test standards under the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic.
• Applicability: Applies to M1 category passenger vehicles with seating capacity up to 8 passengers and gross vehicle weight under 3.5 tonnes.
• Testing criteria:
  • Adult Occupant Protection
  • Child Occupant Protection: Dynamic safety tests for 3-year-old and 18-month-old child dummies
  • Safety Assist Technologies: Seat belt reminders, Pedestrian protection measures etc.

Source: The Indian Express