Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari today launched the much-awaited Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP). Bharat NCAP is being pegged as a significant step forward to improve road safety by raising the safety standards of motor vehicles. The Bharat NCAP crash test ratings will come into effect from October 1, 2023. With this, India will become the fifth country in the world to have its own car crash test rating system. Cars tested under the programme will bear the Bharat NCAP logo and a sticker denoting its rating. The cost of testing a car under the Bharat NCAP programme is around Rs 60 lakh, whereas a similar test would require around Rs 2.5 crore if done overseas.