Crash course: How India is strengthening the four pillars of the car testing world
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi is supercharging the four testing agencies behind India's vehicle standards, crash tests and technology research, at a time new power trains and connectivity tech crowd the automotive assembly line.
The agencies—Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), Pune; International Centre for Automotive Technology (Icat), Manesar; Global Automotive Research Centre (Garc), Chennai; and National Automotive Test Tracks (Natrax), Chennai—will be upgraded at a total cost of ₹776.29 crore, two government officials aware of the plan said on the condition of anonymity. The initiative by the Union heavy industries ministry aims to help agencies speed up vehicle certification and build expertise in vehicle connectivity, cybersecurity, alternate fuels and electric and hybrid vehicles in the world’s third-largest automobile market by sales.
The four agencies ensure vehicle safety, environmental compliance, and performance standards through rigorous certification and R&D testing. The Centre has already set the process in motion, a government document showed.
State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has already issued 65 tenders for the work, which will be done under the ₹10,900 crore PM E-Drive scheme launched in October 2024. The upgrade will expedite vehicle launches, with the test results providing clarity and certainty for underwriting assets in terms of vehicle performance, battery durability, and software reliability, the people cited above said.
This is expected to lead to better access to capital and investments in the new-age mobility sector including the electric vehicles (EVs). “If I were an EV maker, and I had to submit my vehicles for testing and approval to any of these
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