The government is trying to water down the safety standards for cars to suit Indian carmakers and Indian conditions. A close examination of the BN VSAP—or Bharat New Vehicle Safety Assessment Programme—reveals that the specifications of many safety standards, including crash tests, have been reduced (or worse eliminated) in the new rules proposed from 2017. This includes a reduced frontal crash test speed; test of impact on different parts of the body; and the use of child dummies in some cases.

Industry sources say the government accepted BN VASP norms because of the intense pressure from carmakers who felt that if international norms were followed, Indian cars would become significantly more expensive. “One has to take a pragmatic approach here,” says Hormazd Sorabjee, editor, Autocar India. “We have had no norms at all and following global norms will make a large number of budget cars unaffordable.” The Indian car industry has seen low to negative growth in the last few years and prices have increased with the removal of...