The National Automotive Testing & R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP), the ambitious  initiative of the government of India, a number of State governments and the Indian automotive industry to create a state-of-the-art testing, validation and R&D infrastructure in the country, is aiming for timely completion of all its facilities.

Thus far, the test centres which have been completed under the project include the CAD and CAE Lab at ICAT Manesar, GARC Chennai and NATRAX Indore; accident data analysis centre at NCVRS Raebareli and Model I&M Mechanics Training Institute at NIAIMT Silchar. Work is underway at other facilities and at different stages of completions (see detailed table at the bottom).

According to Sanjay Bandopadhyay (pictured), CEO, NATRiP, “At present, transmission and gearbox test facilities under the Powertrain Lab, crash score facility under the Passive Safety Lab, noise vibration and harshness lab, fatigue lab, homologation test track, proving ground, infotronics lab, and calibration lab are underway at ICAT Manesar, ARAI Pune and GARC Chennai and likely to be completed within the next two-and-a-half years.”

Speaking at the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) golden jubilee celebration and the launch of the new Homologation and Technology Centre in Pune yesterday, he said “our main thrust will be to ensure early completion of the high-speed track at Indore.”

In a recent interview to Autocar Professional, he said “the facilities coming up under NATRiP are the best in the world. Facilities like crash testing were not available in India which meant there were no crash testing standards in existence. Now with new safety norms coming, vehicles have also become safer. Similarly, for emission and safety equipment like brakes, stability, noise and electro-magnetic radiations, other norms being formulated," he said.