Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, addressing the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) on September 13, made a notable shift in the government’s stance on mandating six airbags in cars.
Shift in Government’s Stand on Six Airbags in Cars; Here’s Why
Contrasting his statement from the previous year, where he had announced that the government intended to enforce a rule requiring six airbags in passenger cars starting from October 1, 2023, Gadkari now stated that they would not make this rule mandatory.
In his recent statement, Gadkari highlighted the introduction of the Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (BNCAP), which demands six airbags for achieving a 5-star safety rating in cars. He explained that this program would incentivize companies to offer six airbags as a standard feature without the need for imposing mandatory regulations.
As per sources, “The voluntary Bharat NCAP regime requires six airbags as a basic requirement for a car to be eligible for a 4 or 5-star crash test score.
“So, there is no need to mandate six airbags in cars now,” says
@nitin_gadkari”
Bharat NCAP: All You Need To Know
Under this rule, vehicles must achieve a high rating by including safety features such as 6 airbags, electronic stability control (ESC), and 3-point seatbelts. There also is the possibility that the government will make Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) mandatory, which include features such as Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS), lane departure warning, forward collision warning, and driver drowsiness detection.
As of now, almost all vehicles that are manufactured and sold in India are assessed by Global NCAP.
As per Gadkari, Bharat NCAP will be a consumer-centric platform, wherein customers will be able to go for safer cars based on their star ratings and will also promote healthy competition among Indian manufacturers.
Indian manufacturers, as per Gadkari, will be able to get their vehicles tested at India’s own in-house testing facilities.
The Bharat NCAP Programme was first introduced in 2016. The Bharat NCAP will include passive safety tests, testing of internal combustion-engined vehicles, test and rating CNG and electric vehicles based on their crash performance.
The one big difference that sets Bharat NCAP apart from other NCAP formats is that BNCAP will get a single unified rating for adult and child protection, whereas the others go for separate star ratings for adult and child protection.
