Bharat NCAP 2.0 to bring entire safety chain under scanner

The government is planning to roll out a new version of the Bharat NCAP programme from October 2027, which will assess the complete safety framework and address the severe challenge of road accidents in the country, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday.

Addressing the 66th SIAM Annual Convention 2026, the Minister for Road, Transport and Highways also announced another scheme to control emissions from BS IV-compliant vehicles.

The installation of a rare emission control device reduces PM (particulate matter) and NOx significantly, and the cost of the device is Rs 4,000-5,000.

“I am going to announce a new scheme for a rare emission control device. Trials are completed for the device. Emissions after retrofitment on BS 4 vehicles same as BS 6. So this option is there,” he said.

Launched in 2013, Bharat NCAP (Bharat New Car Assessment Program) is India’s official, independent vehicle safety rating system that crash-tests passenger cars and assigns them a rating from 1 to 5 stars. It evaluates how well cars protect adult and child occupants during collisions.

Highlighting the urgency of addressing India’s severe road accident problem, Gadkari said, “We are moving forward with Bharat NCAP 2. This is a very important programme wherein, from October 2027, the entire safety chain will be evaluated. This is very important because road accidents are a big problem… we are number one in the world”.