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The Cabinet recently approved the amendments to the development of semiconductors and the display manufacturing ecosystem in India. The amendments entail a 50 per cent financial support to the project cost on a pari-passu basis for the technology nodes under the scheme for setting up semiconductor fabs in India. It also entails a 50 per cent support under the scheme of setting up display fabs. A 50 per cent fiscal CapEx support was also extended under the scheme for setting up compound semiconductors, silicon photonics, sensors fab and semiconductor ATMP/OSAT facilities in the country. This will also apply to the discrete semiconductor fabs. It is expected that the amendments will expedite investments and a facility will be commissioned in the near term. The 45nm technology nodes and higher have been identified to have high demand driven by industries like automotive, power and telecom-based applications. Together, they constitute 50 per cent of the overall projected demand.
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Ensuring energy security
The Minister of State, Ministry of Heavy Industries, Krishan Pal Gurjar met with the German delegation led by the Minister of Economic Affairs, Science and Digital Society of the Free state of Thuringia, Germany, Wolfgang Tiefensee. In the bilateral meeting, it was asserted that the synergies between India and Germany were crucial to the area of Green Hydrogen. The work on multiple aspects here was deemed crucial to India’s efforts on ensuring energy security. The two nations are synergising on Research and Development (R&D) in the areas like exploring alternate EV battery chemistries like sodium-ion and aluminium-air etc. It also expands to ensure a robust supply chain of rear earth metals like nickel and cobalt. The Indo-German Green Hydrogen Task Force will explore cooperation in the production, utilisation, storage and distribution of green hydrogen. The two will build enabling frameworks for projects, regulations and standards, trade and joint R&D projects.
Scaling up electronics manufacturing and exports
India has committed to reaching USD 300 mn worth of electronics manufacturing and exports by 2025-26. Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, speaking at a gathering at Tirupati, in Andhra Pradesh said, “The Government is keen on supporting startups and entrepreneurs keen on investing in these sectors and is committed to working in partnership with all the states.” In his visit to the electronics manufacturing cluster in Tirupati for the first lithium cell manufacturing plant, he drew attention to the commitment of rupees 25 lakh crores, a 24x growth over the 2014 projections. The commercial production and formal opening are slated for the near term. The plant is said to have a 270 Mwh and 20,000 cells of 10Ah production capacity. Set up by Munoth industries with an outlay of Rs.165 crores, it is one of the two centres being built in the temple town.
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Ensuring rear occupant safety
In the wake of the recent road accident involving the unfortunate demise of businessman Cyrus Mistry, the country has realised the importance of occupant safety and is pursuing it with renewed vigour. With Union Minister Nitin Gadkari among other senior stakeholders of the industry calling it a personal loss, the road safety blueprint of the country is undergoing scrutiny. Among the mandates for passengers is the compulsion to fasten rear seat belts. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are required to look at alert systems in the wake of a passenger failing to secure the seat belt akin to the systems installed for the front passengers. This comes on the close heels of the Government asking OEMs to install six airbags which is the case for the export models. Seat belt reminders or alarms will be required in the M and N category vehicles, with an audio-video warning if the seat belts, including the rear ones, are not worn, according to the draft proposal. There will also be a speed alert system to detect excessive speeding and a manual override for the central locking system.
SIAM office bearers Vedanta The Executive Committee of the Society of Foxconn MoU Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the industry’s apex body elected Vinod Aggarwal, Managing Director and Cheif Executive Officer, Volvo Eicher Commercial in Gujarat Vehicles Ltd. (VECV) as the new President for 2022-23. He succeeds Kenichi Ayukawa san, Executive Vice Chairman and Whole Time Director, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd who completed a successful term involving the two pandemic marred fiscals. The election of new office bearers took place during the executive committee meeting, which took place following SIAM’s Annual General Meeting. After taking over as SIAM President, Aggarwal said, “We are grateful to the government for its constant focus on improving the infrastructure through significant investments and such policies that modernise this industry. I am humbled by the opportunity to contribute to the new era of Amrit Kaal, working closely together with the SIAM members.” The new office bearers include Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd, as the Vice President for 2022-23. Satyakam Arya, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) was elected as the Treasurer. Sunjay Kapur continues as the President at Auto Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) for the next year. The Gujarat Government signed a Rs.1.54 lakh crore Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Vedanta-Foxconn Group. Hailed as a significant development for the manufacture of semiconductor and display fab in the country it had other states like Maharashtra rue the loss of the investment of such a scale. Expected to boost the economy and employment, it is expected to help create a huge ecosystem of ancillaries and in turn, help the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Chief Minister Bhupendra Pal hailed it as a significant investment to further the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision of the government.
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New BorgWarner plant
BorgWarner has inaugurated its second plant in Thiruvallur District near Chennai, India. The new plant provides extensive manufacturing, assembly and storage space. With the two sites known to operate in proximity, the company is expected to increase production efficiency and strengthen the company’s position in the region. The assembly of highperformance engine control and Variable Camshaft Timing (VCT) systems will be centralised in the new facility. It will also provide space for warehousing and shipping. “The current expansion was necessary; we needed the extra space to meet our increasing customer demand in India as a major local manufacturer,” said Pei Wang, Vice President and General Manager Asia, BorgWarner Morse Systems. With the opening of this plant, BorgWarner finds itself ideally positioned to meet the ever-growing business needs of the automotive industry, not only in India but also in the entire Asian market.
JV for electric CV powertrains
Kalyani Powertrain Ltd. (KPTL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharat Forge Ltd. is known for its critical chassis and powertrain components. KPTL has partnered with Harbinger Motors Inc. (Harbinger). Regarded well for its expertise in the medium-duty commercial electric vehicle industry, the two partners will collaborate on electric drivetrain solutions for the commercial vehicle market. ‘ElectroForge’, the new JV entity will leverage the strengths of both the partners to offer best-in-class drivetrains developed for the Class 3 through 8 markets, aimed at delivering superior efficiency and cost competency. At KPTL Pune, India facility, ElectroForge will leverage cutting-edge technology to deliver high-power, low-mass drivetrains with a new architecture tailored specifically for the durability and performance requirements of commercial vehicles. The JV adds to the existing product portfolio at Bharat Forge in power electronics and lightweight solutions for EVs.
LNG engines for BEM
FPT Industrial, an Iveco Group subsidiary, dedicated to the design, production and sale of powertrains involving heavyduty engines for on-road and off-road vehicles, applications has picked up a minority stake in Blue Energy Motors (BEM), a Pune-based startup. The partnership saw its first fructification in the form of a new LNG truck launched at the hands of Union Minister, Nitin Gadkari at the company’s plant. The truck is known to be powered by the FPT N67 NG series of BSVI-compliant engines. Commenting on the launch, Sylvain Blaise, President of Iveco Group, Powertrain Business Unit, said “We are pleased and proud that Blue Energy Motors has chosen us for this major evolution in Indian commercial transport.” Claimed to be the most powerful natural gas engine on the market, it is compatible with CNG, LNG and biomethane. The N67 NG uses stoichiometric combustion to assure bestin-class fuel consumption and lower NVH levels. It lowers TCO by up to 40 per cent with a 28 per cent CO2 emissions reduction.
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New Bridgestone tyres
Bridgestone India has launched the Sturdo range of tyres for the passenger vehicle segment. According to the company, this new range of tyres has a special tread compound that extends tyre life by up to 29 per cent over its current offerings while also improving the ride quality on uneven roads. The tyres are available in 27 sizes ranging from 12-inches to 16-inches with multiple variants. It is targeted at hatchbacks, sedans, and specific SUV models. The brand claims that the Sturdo tyre range has been developed for Indian roads. Speaking on the occasion, Parag Satpute, Managing Director, Bridgestone India, said, “Bridgestone has globally been on the forefront of tyre technology, and this is now showcased in India through our new offering in the passenger car segment- Bridgestone Sturdo. The Sturdo range has up to 29 per cent longer tyre life and is beneficial to the end user from the perspective of the economics of owning the tyres.”
Expansion At Heraeus Noblelight India
Heraeus Noblelight announces two new dedicated members in India, Avnish Kumar and Surya Nautiyal, to provide additional sales, sales support and marketing. Avnish Kumar, Associate Sales Manager, is located in New Delhi and comes from the laser technology industry. Surya Nautiyal, Associate Sales Manager, is located in Mumbai and comes from the optics industry. They will work closely with Heraeus Noblelight’s longtime distributor, to meet the growing demand for UV curing technology/IR heater as Indian manufacturers across a wide range of industries, including automotive, seek to become more automated and process driven. Jim McMahon, Head of HNA Sales stated, “We are seeing significant demand driven not only by overall manufacturing growth in India, but also by a shift from labour-intensive to automated processes to minimise uncertainties and maximize productivity. Heraeus Noblelight’s infrared, UV curing and optics/ flash technology solutions help manufacturers automate production for better quality and increased capacity with the added bonus of sustainability.”
Tata Motors launches synthetic engine oil
Tata Motors launched the 5W30 synthetic engine oil developed to boost the performance of the new-generation BSVI diesel engines. The new 5W30 synthetic engine oil is claimed to have undergone extensive testing under varied and stringent conditions for over three years. Claimed to have been driven for more than 10 lakh kilometres, clocking more than 35,000 hours at the powertrain testing facilities, it uses a rich combination of high-performance polymer with a state-of-the-art additive technology blended in group III base oil. On this occasion, Rajendra Petkar, President and Chief Technology Officer at Tata Motors said, “Effective and efficient engine oil is one of the most convenient and costeffective ways of reducing a vehicle’s carbon emissions. The cumulative impact of such simple measures judiciously taken across all commercial vehicles plying on roads will result in an exponential improvement in carbon footprint reduction. Our team at the Engineering Research Centre (ERC) has been coengineering and developing lubricant formulations in-house, while closely working with strategic partners from the field of additive manufacturing.
Newscast / international
Harman builds an OE-fitted solution
Harman has built an OEfitted solution with a focus on enhancing vehicle safety. The introduction of ‘Ready Care’ is said to equip OEMs with advanced technology to improve driver safety and wellbeing. Armin Prommersberger, Senior Vice-President, Automotive Product Management at HARMAN International said “Safety remains a top concern for consumers when considering a new vehicle purchase – and now, with Ready Care, OEMs can improve vehicle safety in a significant new way. Ready Care is a set of solutions – cognitive distraction, stress-free routing, and personalised comfort – that can work together or independently to improve safety and reduce driver stress. Banking on newly developed machine learning algorithms, the steps involve gathering and processing data from in-vehicle cameras and sensors to monitor a driver’s state. It generates customised in-vehicle cabin prompts to trigger a range of behavioural responsesincreasing awareness, and is claimed to alleviate stress or induce ease and relief.
California to ban ICE by 2035?
In a bid to accelerate the transition to EVs, California could ban ICE-powered vehicles as early as 2035. This could have a ripple effect on other states that follow California standards. The regulators put in place a plan to restrict and ban the sale of gasoline cars. Looked at as the beginning of the end of the ICE-age, the restrictions proposed by California Air Resources Board, if allowed to come into force could see nearly a third of the United States following suit. Notably, there are interim restrictions proposed too. By 2026, 35 per cent of the passenger vehicles sold must produce zero emissions; the number must climb to 68 per cent by 2030. Others call it “extremely challenging” to meet. It will ride on factors like inflation, charging ecosystem, supply chains, critical mineral availability and the pricing metrics.
