EVENT Ltd. and President ARAI, “Given the potential contribution, the automotive industry is the biggest growth driver of GDP. Over the last decade, significant gains have been made. Going forward, dealing with complexities, the automotive industry requires the highest level of innovation to satisfy the customers.” Lauding ARAI for having built the requisite competence and infrastructure, Kirloskar called for innovation at an affordable cost. He also drew attention to product development cycle times being compressed given the backdrop of increasing disruptive changes. “The new avenues opened up by crash norms, new safety requirements, the call for e-mobility, have all opened up a global set of requirements,” he explained. Citing disruptive changes as a big challenge for the industry, Kirloskar apprised his audience of the rising need for skilled manpower and resources for the automotive industry to be able to sustain the growth momentum. Rashmi Urdhwareshe, Director, ARAI, drew attention to a panel discussion titled ‘Çollaborative R&D for Futuristic Mobility Solution’, on the agenda this year which she said would bring all the stakeholders on a common platform. Urdhwareshe announced a joint development programme on seats with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). About selection
of the technical papers, she said that a total of 236 manuscripts were selected for publication, including 40 invited papers and keynotes from India and overseas, making for a valuable repository. Bringing a perspective from the aviation space, Dr Bala Bharadvaj, Managing Director, Boeing Research & Technology India, and President SAE INDIA, urged the industry to look at the classification ‘Automotive’ as one that looks at not just surface vehicles but those flying in the air. He opined that it would widen the horizon of the industry on the whole. Bharadvaj cited the example of hands-free driving in planes, referred to semi-autonomous in the automotive parlance, as a ready to adopt solution. Traffic manoeuvres in aeroplanes in the 3D space, air traffic vehicular management, he opined, had attained a high degree of advancement. Bharadvaj urged the industry to look at ways to think beyond just the cocoon of the automobile industry and borrow technology from the aerospace industry especially in areas like shaping and structuring of the vehicles. “I request the industry to think beyond the set boundaries and blur them especially since both the industries require a similar scale of effort to graduate to the next level,” he said. David L. Schutt, Chief Executive Officer, SAE International, said the
society has 130,000 members from 100 countries. He reiterated the Society’s commitment to help advance mobility. Chief Guest Dr A R Sihag, Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Government of India, lauded the auto industry for having come a long way since the early decade of Independence. Speaking of the Indian auto industry as ranked among the top 5 globally, Dr Sihag, highlighted the technological strides made by the industry in relation to environment, safety and affordability. Citing the automotive mission plan for the next decade (2016-2026), he said that the industry aimed to graduate to rank 3 globally. From the present contribution of 8%, the industry will look to contribute an estimated 12% to the GDP, and result in direct and indirect employment for 65 million Indians, he claimed. “NATRIP Implementation Society (NATIS) will implement the National Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRIP),” he explained. Highlighting the Government’s role in promoting electric vehicles through FAME-I, Dr Sihag lauded the latter’s efforts in helping the industry to localise the manufacturing of e-vehicles. He cited the launch of 450 vehicles under a pilot project relating to public transport and shared mobility across 9 cities. Fame-I with
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