NATRiP starts off testing facilities at ICAT, Manesar

The National Automotive Testing & R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP) inaugurated its new test facilities at at International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), Manesar in Gurgaon district of Haryana in the presence of union minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises (MoHI & PE), Anant Geete. 

Speaking in the presence of RK Singh, JS in the Department of Heavy Industry; Sanjay Bandhopadhyaya, CEO & project director, NATRiP; Geete said that the new facilities at ICAT have come up as a part of the initiative from the Government of India in the form of the NATRiP project. He added that NATRiP has facilitated introduction of automotive safety, emission and performance standards in the country which are at par with global standards and fast catching up with the best standards across the globe to ensure seamless integration of Indian automotive industry with the global industry.

He congratulated ICAT for the successful installation and commissioning of various facilities under the NATRiP project catering to the current day and future requirements of the Indian auto industry.

ICAT offers an opportunity to the auto manufacturers to develop, validate and test the products and technologies which will help address the challenges faced by the auto industry in terms of stringent emission norms, increasing concern regarding the emission levels, depleting conventional energy resources and ever increasing customer expectations.

The minister said the automotive industry is about to change drastically due to energy and CO₂ discussion, interconnection and automation. “This results in new requirements on drive trains and transmissions with regard to efficiency, comfort, dynamics and safety, which in turn lead to a large variety of competing drive and transmission concepts and to a previously unknown wave of innovations for components and assemblies.”

The minister stated that he is happy to acknowledge that the Indian automotive industry is emerging as the preferred choice of destination for automotive players across the globe: “With the Make in India initiative of the government, India today is looked towards by all the major global automotive manufacturers as the destination of future.”

The minister later announced the setting up of a National Automotive Board which will encompass all the seven NATRiP centres spread across the country.