Means of transportation act as agents which communicate impulses of growth across the length and breadth of a country. Thus, for the growth of the national economy, their all around development is important. Transportation system traditionally is a mix of different modes, viz. land, water and air. This is so in India also as it covers Railways, Road transport, Inland water transport, Air transport and Shipping. Efficient functioning of the transportation system is dependent on an optimal composition of this mix, and on how far the advancements in technologies are absorbed by the individual modes of transportation. Among the various means of transport, automotives occupy a significant place. The high degree of air pollution in urban centres due to automotives is now a matter of concern to all. The other important aspects of concern are fuel economy and safety of road travel. Electronics has been increasingly used in automotives to reduce environmental pollution, improve fuel economy and safety of road travel in the developed countries. Importance of this is now being realised in India too. In the developed countries, the electronics content in a typical automobile by the year 2000 is estimated to be around 20 per cent. An automotive electronics market of US$ 20 billion has accordingly been anticipated in 1993. In the Indian context, even with a target of 10 per cent by 2000, the estimated requirement of electronics for Indian automotive industry may be around Rs. 20,000 millions. In this article, international trends in application of electronics technologies and devices in automotive as a sector have been presented. The status of applications in India is also discussed. An attempt has been made to suggest technologies required for automotives in India, and a mechanism for their implementation. Role of both the Government agencies and market forces has equally been emphasised. It is hoped that this will create wide interest among the concerned industries and other organisations in India to promote development of wider applications of automotive electronic technologies for meeting the national objectives of reduction in pollution, improvement in fuel economy and safety of road travel.
