The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India, has been a cornerstone of the Indian automotive industry's progress for nearly six decades. It has played a pivotal role in introducing sustainable and safer automotive technologies while supporting industry and government initiatives to elevate Indian standards to match global benchmarks.

Since its establishment on 10 December 1966, ARAI has transformed from a testing agency into a comprehensive research and technology deployment organisation. Today, it provides integrated services across three key domains: Research and Development (R&D), Certification and Skill Development.

On its 58th Annual Day, ARAI highlighted its contributions to the mobility sector, showcasing its role in promoting safety, innovation, and sustainability. Recent advancements include the launch of state-of-the-art facilities such as the Airbag Deployment Facility, Advanced Accelerated Sled, Advanced Photometry & Optics Laboratory and the Advanced Noise Vibration & Harshness Developmental Centre.

The institution is also equipped with world-class facilities to evaluate vehicle safety under New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) protocols, aligning Indian standards with global benchmarks.

The upcoming Mobility Research Centre (MRC) in Takwe aims to further enhance ARAI’s capabilities. Proposed facilities include an ADAS Smart City Test Track, Cylinder Test and Certification Centre, Hydrogen Test Facility, and a High Energy Impact Test (HEIT) Facility, which will be the first of its kind in India and Asia, accredited to ISO 17025. Additionally, the MRC will empower local cylinder manufacturers to test products domestically, supporting the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative. At ARAI’s Chakan Centre, an Advanced Battery Safety Testing Facility is being established to ensure compliance with evolving safety standards for electric vehicles in India.

In recent years, ARAI has undertaken a variety of R&D projects in emerging areas such as electric vehicles, autonomous driving and advanced engine development. Key projects include:

• AC/DC Charging Stations and LEV AC Charge Points
• Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (AVAS)
• Battery Management Systems
• Drive-by-wire Platforms
• Advanced engines such as a 600 hp unit and BS-VI-compliant HCV CNG engines
• Lightweight aluminum extrusion profiles
• Ergonomic dummy kinematics assessment under the SIZE India project
• Hydrogen PEM-based electric three-wheelers for extended range

To support alternative energy solutions, ARAI has established an Alternate Fuel Centre, focusing on fuels such as methanol, hydrogen, HCNG, ethanol, LNG, biodiesel and bio-CNG, among others.

Dr. Reji Mathai, Director of ARAI, commented, “At ARAI, our continuous focus is on addressing the evolving needs of the automotive industry. Transformation has been the cornerstone of ARAI’s journey. Beyond the automotive sector, we are expanding our services to aerospace and railways. Platforms like TechNovuss, ARAI-AMTIF (a Section 8 company), and our Technical Support Cell provide vital support to MSMEs and startups. Skill development is a key priority for us, with ARAI Academy offering diverse programs for students and professionals. Through flagship events like SIAT and initiatives like Mobility Hackathons and BAJA, we aim to foster innovation and disseminate research knowledge.”

With factors like exhaust emissions, non-exhaust emissions, battery durability and lifetime requirements (in terms of mileage and lifetime) as the key requirements, vehicles complying with BS 7 emission regulations will see a considerable rise in onboard controllers. 
The commercial vehicles will be particularly subject to a doubling of controllers onboard as the new emission regulations kick in the next two to three years, mentioned a technology chief of an automobile company in India recently. 
The number of controllers will double in a commercial vehicle from 10 to 20, he explained. He drew attention to the move up to Euro 7 emission norms in Europe and stated, “The BS 7 emission norms in India are loosely based on the Euro 7 emission regulations that come into effect in Europe in 2025.”  
The Euro 7 emission regulations in Europe will come into force for passenger vehicles from 1 July 2025. The Euro 7 emission regulations for commercial vehicles will come into force from 1 July 2027. 
The BS 7 emission regulations draft is out, mentioned an auto components industry leader. “The emission regulations, like in Europe, are expected to be enforced in a staggered manner,” he added. 
The government is expected to announce the BS 7 regulations for passenger vehicles and two-wheelers in the middle of next calendar year. These would closely follow the RDE norms that came into force from middle of last calendar year. 
The effect of BS & emission norms is expected to be considerable in terms of price escalation in vehicles. 
 

Visteon Corporation, a leading supplier for automotive cockpit electronics and connected car solutions, has inaugurated its new Global Capability Center (GCC) in Kolkata, India. The facility set to become operational by January 2025 is set to have 300 engineers by end-2026 with plans to scale it up to over 500 engineers in the next two to three years.

The Kolkata GCC will focus on Android-based infotainment, autonomous vehicle solutions, cybersecurity, multimedia & remote projection, cloud technologies. It will exclusive focus on Android-based infotainment and cockpit software development.

With this, the company now has facilities in Chennai, Goa, Bengaluru, Pune, Trivandrum and Coimbatore contributing to its global development capabilities.

Sachin Lawande, President & CEO, Visteon, said, “India has been central to our strategy for over 20 years, with over 2,000 of our people driving automotive innovation. The new Kolkata center strengthens our focus on Android-based automotive solutions and expands our fastest-growing product portfolio. At Visteon we meet the talent where it’s at, and we’re glad to strengthen our team with Kolkata’s engineering expertise and collaborate with the city’s top universities to support the evolving needs of automakers worldwide.”

Altair, a pioneer in computational intelligence worldwide, has revealed that its data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) platform, Altair RapidMiner, now enables customers to create and implement sophisticated AI agents with ease. By integrating generative AI (genAI) agents into their processes, organisations may use Altair RapidMiner to enable operational insight and disruptive automation.

The most cutting-edge elements of top AI agent frameworks are combined in this new capability, which also adds Altair RapidMiner's unique advantages. Features like AI fabric intelligent ecosystems, graph-powered contextual intelligence, smooth integration with sophisticated computational systems, integrated governance and traceability and improved multi-agent collaboration are all included in the Altair RapidMiner for AI agents, which connects to APIs, enterprise systems and external tools with ease.

Sam Mahalingam, CTO, Altair, said, “Altair RapidMiner, already a trusted platform for machine learning and data analytics, is now taking the next step with our AI agent framework. By enabling users to build autonomous AI agents that seamlessly integrate graph-based intelligence, machine learning, simulations and business rules, we're unlocking new possibilities. This innovative approach, built on the trusted foundation of Altair RapidMiner, allows organisations to maximise the value of their data and achieve a competitive edge.”

US-based artificial intelligence (AI) driven data solutions company iMerit recently launched an automotive AI centre of excellence in Coimbatore. Speaking to Motoring Trend on the sidelines of the event, Chief Executive Officer Radha Ramaswami Basu said, “The Centre of Excellence works on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and audio-visual systems, ensuring that the perception models are safely built with high quality data under many different traffic and weather conditions. Secondly, we perform review work, quality control of the models, generative AI explainability and driving scenario analysis, to close the loop.”

The company has hired all local people from Coimbatore and nearby areas for the centre and provides high quality training to them to hit the ground running. With projects in hand, and long-term customers, it already has a workforce of over 200 people with plans to double the number in 2025. “Our Ango Hub technology gives them a huge advantage in their career journey,” said Basu.

While the company refrained from disclosing customer names citing stringent confidentiality policies, it noted that it works with OEM, Tier-1 and Silicon Valley innovators, in the automotive and drone spaces.

The new centre, iMerit’s 12th location, was inaugurated by Minister of Information Technology and Digital Services for Tamil Nadu, Dr Palanivel Thiagarajan, in the presence of employees, guests and senior executives from iMerit. The company continues to invest in developing industry-leading software and solutions for AI Data to support its customers in autonomous mobility, medical AI and technology.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Thiagarajan said, “This event signifies a critical milestone, illustrating the remarkable speed at which visionary leadership and dedicated execution can effect change. The establishment of an office within six months—from initial discussions to formal inauguration—constitutes an exceptional accomplishment. Organisations operating in sectors such as artificial intelligence, computer vision and data augmentation are poised to transform industries on a global scale. Moreover, these companies are fostering inclusive growth by advancing historically underserved communities, generating employment opportunities and equipping individuals with advanced skill sets. Notably, with women comprising 52 percent of the workforce, many serving as sole breadwinners, this model embodies innovation, social equity and empowerment—a true reflection of Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister Thiru MK Stalin’s ambition and excellence.”

Basu also noted, “Coimbatore is a historic cultural and industrial venue. It is already famous for its IT and automotive sectors. I am very pleased to bring these together with iMerit’s automotive AI vertical.  Automotive AI is our largest vertical. 60 percent of our revenues come from cutting-edge companies in autonomous mobility including trucking, ADAS and drones.

Commenting on the new centre, Chief Delivery Officer Anupam Biswas said, “Data quality is critical to AI technology, especially in computer vision and multi-sensor fusion, which are important for innovation in autonomous vehicles. The work is quite complex and we found a good mix of experienced and young talent in the Coimbatore area. This has been our fastest ramp-up in a new location. We have already hired and trained over 220 multi-sensor fusion experts on our Ango Hub software and they have started working on critical customer projects.”

The company emphasises responsible AI through ethical practices. For over 10 years, it has helped leading AI model developers across mission-critical industries like autonomous mobility, healthcare AI and high-tech.  iMerit has also been steadily growing its India business. With Automotive AI in India poised to cross a billion dollars in the next five years, the company hopes to leverage its global know-how to help the Indian industry also build a strong AI data backbone.