Cybersecurity Audits Of Battery Management Systems

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEAVY INDUSTRIES RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1522 ANSWERED ON 31.07.2026 CYBERSECURITY AUDITS OF BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

1522. SHRI P. WILSON:

Will the Minister of Heavy Industries be pleased to state:

(a) whether Government has directed electric vehicle manufacturers to strengthen cybersecurity audits of battery management systems, if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether Government proposes to introduce mandatory battery safety testing and certification standards, including crash impact, thermal runaway, water immersion and fast charging tests, similar to vehicle crash tests;

(c) the details of safety standards presently applicable to Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries;

(d) whether any Central funds have been allocated for battery safety testing infrastructure and research; and

(e) any timeline fixed for implementation of the proposed safety measures? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR HEAVY INDUSTRIES (SHRI BHUPATHIRAJU SRINIVASA VARMA)

(a): The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI), has issued a formal advisory to strengthen cybersecurity audits of battery management systems on July 6, 2026, to major industry bodies including SIAM and ACMA, as well as various testing agencies.

(b), (c) & (e): As per the revised regulatory framework, every manufacturer or importer of an electric vehicle is required under Rule 126 of the CMVR, 1989, to submit a prototype to a notified testing agency to obtain a Type Approval Certificate, which certifies compliance with the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and the CMVR, 1989. Presently, safety requirements for L- category electric vehicles are governed by AIS 156, while vehicles in the M and N categories must comply with AIS 038 Rev. (2) regarding the safety of the Electric Power Train and the Rechargeable Energy Storage System (REESS). For the implementation of proposed cybersecurity and software update measures, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways published draft rules under G.S.R. 503(E) on 17th June, 2026, for vehicle categories L, M, and N in accordance with AIS-189 and AIS-190 standards.

(d): As per the information received from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), research and development (R&D) activities relating to battery technology and Battery Management Systems (BMS) have been supported under the Development of Electric Vehicle Sub-Systems (EVSS) programme. MeitY has also informed that there is one R&D Centre on rechargeable battery technology at the Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (CMET), Pune.

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