Not sure what to make of this. I’m Indian and the last time I was in India, there was strict execution of the seatbelt law and offenders were made to wait and fined heavily. Most drivers were wearing seatbelts.

Maybe because it was in Chennai, a southern state and not in Mumbai or Delhi.

Sounds plausible. I was in Delhi a couple of years ago, using mostly Ola (Uber didn't seem to like my non-Indian card, strangely enough) and most of them did not have seat belts at all.

Used Uber in Delhi and the driver told me to relax as there was no need to wear the seatbelt because it's only mandatory for the driver.