ARAI to put up 5 inspection, certification test centres

The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) will set up five inspection and certification test centres in the country on the orders of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. So far, it is decided that Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Telangana will get the ARAI test centres.

The ARAI test centres will carry out emission and safety inspection. Emission inspection includes free acceleration tests (diesel-run vehicles) and idle tests (for petrol, LPG, CNG vehicles). The safety inspection centres, on the other hand, will have automated equipment. These will carry out speedometer, brake tests, suspension, underbody and overbody areas, joint play, headlamps, tail-lamps, side slip and others.

Sources associated with the development say that ARAI will build and handover these test centres to the government, however, its operating authorities haven't been finalised yet. ARAI is known for providing consultancy services to set up optimal sized test centres for government and private organisations. It also undertakes turnkey projects, like establishing greenfield test centres, carrying out audits for these centres, and training motor vehicle inspectors and operators. The association is currently engaged with several organisations for providing these services.

Meanwhile, Rashmi Urdhwareshe, director, ARAI, while giving an update on ARAI’s upcoming 55,000 square metre Chakan facility, said: “Augmentation of ARAI’s facilities will have three centres of excellence – one COE in powertrain, fatigue and materials, and passive safety. This will be done at Chakan. Out of these centres, the building of a passive safety lab and its infrastructure is now ready, and the installation of key equipment for crash testing is in the advanced stage of completion.”

Interestingly, the all-new passive test facility built under National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP) at ARAI, Chakan, has equipment for carrying out crash tests such as full frontal, offset frontal, side, side pole and rear impact as per Automatic Identification Systems, Indian Standard (AIS), ECE regulations, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) requirements. It also has a static rollover test facility, a full-fledged dummy calibration facility, an electric AC drive crash test system, with a payload capacity of 3,500kg and propelling speed of 80kph, and many others.

Of these upcoming test centres, Nashik is most likely to be the chosen location for Maharashtra, while a centre might come up on the Railmagra-Udaipur highway in Rajasthan. Locations for the remaining states haven't been decided yet.

Comments

2018 Lamborghini Urus India review, test drive

On first introduction, it’s a recipe for intimidation. It’s claimed to be the fastest SUV in the world (0-100kph in 3.6sec and a top speed of 305kph puts it nearly in supercar territory), and it’s made by Lamborghini – creator of some of the most savage vehicles on the market. Things – as with any Lamborghini, for that matter – would be a lot less daunting if we were driving on a smooth European country road, a wide motorway, or even a race track. But today we’re driving the Urus on a narrow ghat road, as well as through some heavy Pune traffic. Perhaps the intention was to demonstrate that this is the first Lamborghini ever to go on sale in India that truly works in our conditions – but still, I doubt they accounted for rush hour. It’s requisitely mad to look at, employing as many ‘sporty’ design tropes to an SUV body style as possible – the only thing missing is a massive wing on the back; and somehow, it works. It’s ...

Rolls Royce Cullinan SUV in the works

Rolls Royce has released the first pictures of its Cullinan SUV prototype. The company has said that only the length of the prototype gives clues about the production. The entire car is an engineering mock-up to test the new all-wheel drive transmission and suspension. The prototype, based on a shortened Phantom II, is set for road testing from the second week of April. The company has said that it would “assist Rolls Royce engineers in developing a final suspension system that will deliver the brand's hallmark 'magic carpet' ride not only on the road, but off-road too”. Rolls Royce CEO Torsten Muller-Ötvös had, some time back, confirmed to our sister publication Autocar UK, that the company was developing an all-new four-wheel drive high-bodied Rolls Royce. He had, however, avoided using the word ‘SUV’. The new Rolls Royce is expected to shatter existing price and size ceilings for a SUV, but as per the brand's design boss Giles Taylor, the SUV will be po...

Land Rover Discovery Sport review

Two things. To start with, it’s Land Rover’s replacement for the popular and capable Freelander. It’s also the first of the models from Land Rover’s new Discovery sub-brand, one that will focus on utility in the same vein as the Range Rover line is about luxury. The Discovery Sport was shown as a concept last year and the production version’s styling doesn’t stray too far from the prototype. It’s smart, well proportioned and interesting but doesn’t have the show value of something like an Evoque. Still, there’s a certain honesty to the chunky shape which, if you think about it, more than links the Sport to the Freelander. The Sport is 91mm longer than its predecessor and also sits on a wheelbase that’s grown by 80mm. These increments, and the incorporation of a compact multi-link rear suspension, have allowed Land Rover to fit in a third row of seats, giving the Sport a big advantage over its five-seat competitors – the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Volvo XC60. But Land Rover is being cau...

Automobilestillnow

Search This Blog