India's ER&D potential in a software-defined automotive industry

As the automotive industry evolves, disruptions and innovations are set to rise faster, mainly fuelled by the key megatrends of electrification, autonomous driving, connected vehicle tech, and shared mobility. While each of these may have its own growth trend, the common denominator for all of them is their heavy dependence on software and digital technology. As the automobiles become more software-defined, India, with its much applauded global track record in the software/IT industry, has a good chance to emerge stronger as a global Engineering and Research & Development (ER&D) destination of choice.

The Indian ER&D industry, pegged at around USD 31 billion, is estimated to shoot up to USD 63 billion by FY25. Given the strong adoption trend of software technology in the automotive/mobility sector, some say the ER&D industry could reach USD 75 billion by FY26. The current and future technology trends present great opportunities for engineering, and software technology providers in India.

In this special panel discussion, industry leaders representing software technology, and engineering companies, a global OEM alliance, and technology industry body NASSCOM share their insights on software technology trends in the automotive industry, India’s opportunity to be a global powerhouse in ER&D, the hurdles on the way and how they can be overcome.

The panelsists:

· Sriram Lakshminarayanan, President and Chief Technical Officer, Tata Technologies;

· Debashis Neogi, Managing Director, Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre, India;

· R V Narasimham, SVP and Global Head, Integrated Engineering Solutions, Tech Mahindra; and

· Siva Polimetla, Head, ER&D, NASSCOM.