The government should support more advanced technologies in the automotive sector to reduce dependencies on imports, Shailesh Chandra, president of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), and MD, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, said at the 65th Annual Summit of the Automotive Components Manufacturers Association (ACMA) in New Delhi on Friday.

Chandra stressed the huge need to augment strength in technological advancements. He highlighted that the government has initiated this by supporting 100 advanced technologies under the PLI scheme. However, he also highlighted that only a handful of technologies are in the automotive sector. “I urge the government to support more such advanced technologies, so that we can reduce dependencies on imports,” he said.

The government should also ensure backdoor integration in the automotive value chain, according to Chandra, so that India does not develop only downstream capabilities, but upstream capabilities as well. SIAM has also identified 50 critical components, and exhorted the automotive components industry to start manufacturing these components domestically to make India self-reliant. “The Indian automotive industry should develop capabilities and capacities,” he said.

He also highlighted the criticality of the rare-earth magnets that were felt by the industry. It should be noted that the industry was jolted by the restriction on exports of the rare-earth magnets by China, which affected automakers, including Tata Motors. Chandra said that the Indian automobile industry somehow managed to weather the crisis, and discussions are now underway to bring the entire rare-earth magnets ecosystem to India.

In July, in a strategic move to reduce dependency on China, the government has earmarked ₹1,345 crore to begin production of rare-earth magnets in India, which was announced by HD Kumaraswamy, the Union Minister of Heavy Industries. The plan includes R&D support, production at an industrial scale, and forging partnerships with both PSUs and private companies.

Chandra also enlightened the congregation that, in a world fraught with volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, India has remained strong, driven by robust economic growth. He also discussed the pivotal role that the automobile industry plays in the country's economic development, contributing 15% to the GDP.