ETAutoTech Summit 2025: Pawan Goenka urges ISRO-Auto industry collaboration on sensor tech

Time of India

5 hours ago

Sensor technology is fast becoming the beating heart of next-gen vehicles. As cars evolve into intelligent, software-defined machines, India has a golden opportunity to tap into its space ecosystem for cutting-edge innovation.
Speaking at the ETAutoTech Summit 2025 in Bengaluru, Dr.
Pawan Goenka
, Chairman, IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre), shares that among the various technologies, sensor technology should be the first to go when it comes to
technology transfer
from ISRO to automotive sector.
'ISRO has some 50 odd different sensors that can see application into the
automotive industry
,' he shares, adding that technologies from ISRO and DRDO in the areas of sensors,
ADAS
and camera should be looked at by the automotive industry in
collaboration with ARAI
for its commercial viability. There are close to 14 space technologies that have been identified for possible transfer to automotive sector.
'There should be no one sensor that should be imported in India. We must leverage indigenous capabilities.'Dr. Pawan Goenka
Goenka emphasises that two ISRO centres house hundreds of scientists dedicated solely to
sensor development
. He called on the auto industry to form a collaborative task force with ISRO to adapt and customise space-grade sensors for road-ready applications. 'If we can put a group together in the automotive industry to work with ISRO, we can translate the space sensor technology to automotive sensor technology,' he notes.
'There should be no one sensor that should be imported in India,' he states. 'We must leverage indigenous capabilities.'
Reflecting that the technology of ISRO is very expensive and would need a recalibration and refinement to suit the automotive sector, Dr. Goenka says, 'We need to work together to make the cost right, and remove features that may be unnecessary for automotive. That's how we create viable, local solutions.'
Asked about slow pick up of NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellations) technology, he says, 'Three more navigation satellites will soon be launched. With that, NaVIC will be able to do everything and would be little better than GPS in terms of accuracy and data.' He adds, 'Government is making every effort to push NavIC in civilian applications to reduce dependency on foreign systems for something so critical as navigational data. NaVIC is already in use for our strategic needs and is successful.'
Beyond individual technologies, Dr. Goenka stresses on the need to build Brand India, both globally and domestically. He urged Indian manufacturers to focus on quality, R&D, and technology ownerships.
'We have come a long way. Today, Indian companies are producing world-class products, using local manufacturing and sourcing,' he says. 'Now, we must aim to build and position Brand India alongside Germany, Korea, and Japan on the global automotive stage.' However, he emphasises on the need to further improvements in quality and a stronger focus on R&D.
'If we look at any vehicle closely today and the technologies it has, how much is coming in from India - it is close to zero,' he reflects.
Looking ahead, Dr. Goenka sees a major global opportunity in
Software-Defined Vehicles
(SDVs) and urges Indian tech leaders and automotive industry to take the lead.
'India has the core software and systems expertise. If we act now, we can become the SDV capital of the world,' he shares.