At the 66th SIAM Annual Convention, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, revealed that the government is preparing for the second phase of Bharat NCAP (BNCAP), set to come into effect from October 2027. The new phase of the BNCAP, Gadkari said, is planned to broaden the vehicle assessment programme to areas such as crash avoidance, pedestrian safety and post-crash response.
- Entire crash chain will be evaluated, expanding beyond occupant protection
- Gadkari invited manufacturers to submit suggestions based on global safety practices
Bharat NCAP 2.0 plans: What was revealed?
“Entire crash chain” to be evaluated with the Bharat NCAP 2.0 programme
“We are going ahead with making Bharat NCAP 2. This is a very important programme [which will be] valid from October 2027,” said Gadkari while addressing the SIAM convention. The next phase is expected to assess a wider range of safety parameters. “We are going to evaluate the entire crash chain,” he added while identifying three broad areas – avoiding a crash, pedestrian protection and post-crash evacuation and care – rather than focusing only on how vehicles protect occupants during a crash.
The ministry will also look at new safety technologies available globally, as well as solutions being developed by Indian startups. Gadkari also invited vehicle manufacturers to submit suggestions based on their research, technical experience and safety practices followed in other markets. “If you have any good suggestions, don’t hesitate, come to us,” he said.
Notified draft rules from MoRTH in November 2025 proposed 100-point evaluation criteria
In November 2025, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) proposed new rules for the next phase of Bharat NCAP under AIS-197 (Revision 1), aimed at making the car-safety testing programme more detailed and stricter. Under the proposed system, cars would receive a score out of 100 based on five areas: crash protection (55 points), protection for pedestrians and other vulnerable road users (20 points), safe driving features (10 points), accident avoidance technology (10 points) and post-crash safety (5 points).
The requirements for a 5-star safety rating would also become tougher. From 2027, a car would need to score at least 70 out of 100 to receive 5 stars, while from 2029, the minimum score would increase to 80 points.
The proposal also calls for more crash tests. In addition to the existing tests, cars would have to undergo a 50kph full-width frontal crash test, a 32kph oblique pole impact test and a 50kph rear-impact test. The speed of the existing side-pole test would also increase from 29kph to 32kph. Another major change is that cars would need to offer curtain airbags and electronic stability control (ESC) as standard to qualify for a star rating.
Dhruv Dhaka
Ajit Dalvi
Uday Singh
