Their performance across these parameters is then used to arrive at the overall star rating. The current framework includes a 64 kmph offset frontal impact test, a 50 kmph side movable deformable barrier test and a pole side impact test, among other checks prescribed under AIS-197.

The assessment therefore goes beyond simply asking whether the passenger compartment remains intact. Adult Occupant Protection examines the risk of injury to adults in different crash conditions and seating positions.

Child Occupant Protection looks at the protection offered to younger passengers, including the use and installation of child restraint systems. Safety Assist Technologies, meanwhile, covers technologies designed to help prevent crashes or reduce their severity.

QuoteWhy are adult and child safety assessed separately? A car may offer different levels of protection to adults and children, so Bharat NCAP evaluates the two separately.

The adult assessment focuses on occupant protection during prescribed crash scenarios, while the child assessment considers how effectively younger occupants are protected and how child restraint systems work within the vehicle. This also means that a car’s overall star rating is not simply a score from one crash test.

It reflects performance across several safety parameters. For consumers, the individual scores can therefore provide more information than looking at the star rating alone.

Who tests the cars? Bharat NCAP is anchored by CIRT, with testing carried out through designated testing agencies that have the required facilities.

The wider automotive testing ecosystem includes agencies such as the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and the International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT). Manufacturers submit eligible vehicles for assessment under the programme.

The existing framework specifies procedures around the variant selected for testing, including provisions concerning the base variant of a model. That distinction matters when reading a Bharat NCAP result.

A rating should not automatically be assumed to apply to every variant of a model unless the official assessment covers those variants. Four assessments of NCAPBharat NCAP ratingsBharat NCAP ratings range from one to five stars.

A higher rating indicates stronger performance under the programme’s prescribed assessment criteria. But a five-star rating is not a guarantee that occupants will escape injury in every real-world crash.

NCAP testing is conducted under standardised conditions and is intended to provide a basis for comparing vehicle safety performance. It is also important to distinguish Bharat NCAP from the mandatory certification requirements for selling a vehicle in India.

Bharat NCAP is voluntary and is designed to provide consumers with additional information beyond the mandatory regulatory framework. A vehicle being tested or rated under Bharat NCAP should therefore not be confused with regulatory approval.

Since its launch, Bharat NCAP has increasingly become part of the safety conversation around new car launches. The ratings have also become a factor in how manufacturers present their vehicles to consumers, particularly as safety becomes a more visible consideration in the passenger-vehicle market.

What do the stars represent? 0?

This is where the proposed second phase takes a much wider approach. 0 into five safety verticals: Safe drivingCrash avoidanceCrash protectionVulnerable road user protectionPost-crash safetyThe change is significant because the current system focuses mainly on occupant protection and safety-assist technologies, while the proposed framework looks at the complete safety chain.

The draft framework uses a 100-point assessment structure, with Crash Protection accounting for 55% of the assessment. The remaining weightage covers the other safety areas.

In other words, the crash itself will still be a major part of the rating, but it will no longer be the only part of the safety story. 0 proposes expanding the Crash Protection assessment to five mandatory crash tests:64 kmph offset frontal impact against a deformable barrier50 kmph frontal impact against a full-width rigid barrier50 kmph lateral impact against a mobile deformable barrier32 kmph oblique side impact against a rigid pole50 kmph rear impact against a mobile rigid barrierAdult and child occupant protection will continue to be assessed separately.

The addition of full-width frontal and rear-impact tests means the proposed system will examine crash scenarios beyond the core tests in the existing framework. That gives the second phase a wider testing footprint and allows different types of impacts to form part of the overall safety assessment.

0 is that the programme is designed to look at what happens before a crash as well. Crash Avoidance is one of the five proposed verticals.

It focuses on technologies and vehicle characteristics that can help prevent a collision or reduce its severity. Your guide to safer carsSafe Driving is another proposed category, widening the assessment beyond the vehicle’s passive protection features.

Together, these categories shift the focus from simply asking, “How well does this car perform when it crashes?” to a broader question: “How does this vehicle contribute to safety across different stages of a road incident?”

0 also proposes a separate Vulnerable Road User Protection category. This brings pedestrians and other vulnerable road users more directly into the safety assessment.

The proposed framework also asks a different question: what happens once the collision has taken place? Post-Crash Safety is one of the five proposed assessment areas.

0 as covering the entire safety chain, including post-crash evacuation and care. “We are going to evaluate the entire crash chain,” Gadkari said, adding that new technologies developed globally as well as by startups would be considered under the programme.

This means the assessment is intended to extend beyond the instant of impact and examine safety considerations in the period immediately after a crash. It adds another layer to the programme’s approach: avoiding the crash where possible, protecting people during the impact, and addressing safety after the collision.

What does Bharat NCAP mean for car buyers? For buyers, Bharat NCAP offers an additional way to compare cars beyond mandatory safety requirements.

A consumer can look at a vehicle’s overall rating as well as its adult and child protection performance and the safety technologies considered in the assessment. The rating is not meant to replace other factors involved in buying a car.

0 framework would expand that information further. Buyers could eventually have a broader picture of how a car performs across crash protection, crash avoidance, safe driving, vulnerable-road-user protection and post-crash safety.

Bharat NCAP is one part of a much larger road-safety challenge, focusing on the structure of vehicles. Vehicle design and safety technology can influence the outcome of a crash, but they cannot address every reason why accidents happen.

The ministry has identified several factors associated with road crashes, including speeding, mobile-phone use, drunken driving, wrong-side driving, lane indiscipline, jumping red lights and failure to use helmets and seat belts. Vehicle condition, road conditions and weather can also play a role.

Several countries have their own NCAPSGovernment data recorded 1,68,491 road accident fatalities in 2022. Bharat NCAP therefore addresses one part of this wider equation: the safety performance of vehicles.

Its proposed second phase would broaden that role by looking at what a vehicle can do to help avoid crashes, how it protects people when a crash occurs, how it protects vulnerable road users and what happens afterwards. The bottom lineThe current Bharat NCAP phase remains valid until September 30, 2027.

0 from October 2027, with the draft AIS-197 Revision 1 serving as the framework for the next phase. The proposed transition would take India’s vehicle safety-rating system from a relatively focused crash and occupant-protection programme to a broader safety assessment.

The familiar one-to-five-star rating would remain the consumer-facing language of vehicle safety, but the assessment behind it is set to become much more comprehensive. The bigger shift is in the question Bharat NCAP is trying to answer.

Instead of looking only at how a car performs when it is involved in a crash, the proposed system would examine the vehicle’s safety journey from avoiding a collision to protecting occupants and vulnerable road users, and supporting safety after the crash. That could give Indian car buyers a wider set of safety information to consider when choosing their next vehicle.

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