new delhi mahindra mahindras quanto mpv and renaults duster suv offer you jump seats or extra seats just around the boot area but without the crucial and mandated seat belts almost all carmakers from maruti suzuki to hyundai and honda offer variants in india without lifesaving features such as airbags and abs antilock braking system although these features are included in vehicles exported to even smaller markets despite rising cases of fatalities on indian roads due to the lack of safety features security of incabin passengers appears to have taken a back seat as saleshungry companies engage in a highpitched battle to bag customers in one of the most highpotential markets surprisingly most of the companies operating in india are global players and pack their export models with topnotch safety features even offering six air bags on a compact car whereas the models meant for india lack many of these industry analysts said the behaviour of the companies shows a clear disregard for passenger safety and is a case of utter discrimination s p singh senior fellow and coordinator of indian foundation for transport research training iftrt said manufacturers in india should provide the same level of safety on their cars that they provide on their global models when they market the vehicles they project them as international models but when they sell them in the market the products here are very different from the ones they make for the european markets singh said this is a clear case of discrimination against indian buyers and should not be allowed although the government is to blame for not mandating what are usually basic safety features officials said auto firms led by industry lobby group siam have for years resisted attempts to mandate safety features despite rising cases of fire in cars that has resulted in death of several passengers as well as other fatal incidents companies are still reluctant to take any responsibility for the events often putting the blame on tampering with electrical wires for the incidents the death of three delhi businessmen in a honda city car blamed by delhi police and forensic experts to possible carbon monoxide poisoning has failed to evoke any official reaction from the japanese car major which is yet to even look into the incident in the past companies have blamed lack of regular service or installation of music systems and other electrical items from local vendors for the fire an argument that has not often been found to be correct similar incidents in the west where regulations are stringent against any manufacturing defect results in companies recalling lakhs of cars and often being slapped with hefty milliondollar fines in india the regulators have not taken on companies and agencies such as the automotive research association of india arai which clears vehicles before they are launched ignore basic features for instance several vehicles in india come with the indicator on the left hand side because the carmaker has