Last month, the government had okayed the Rs 67-crore first phase of the project at Pune under the industrial infrastructure upgradation scheme. The Pune-based Automotive Research Association of India, a co-operative industrial research body, had been urging the government to invest over Rs 1,000 crore in testing facilities.

In its auto policy announced last year, the government had said that it would amend the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, Bureau of Indian Standards and other relevant provisions and introduce safety regulations that conform to global standards. Further, testing and certification facilities need to be revised and strengthened in accordance with safety standards of global order, said the policy.