How does the Government plan to take up automotive design as a focussed sector?
Design and styling is the third important aspect of the Indian automotive industry after infrsatructure and technology. We are slowly and gradually moving to the third stage. Certain manufacturers have their own design centres here, but mostly we are dependent on designers outside. First, that it is expensive and secondly, they may not reflect our culture, requirement, weather, road conditions and lot many things. We must have a design institute, which we are trying to establish with the help of the private sector. I am sure this would come about within this Five Year Plan. Even the IITs, for instance, were talking of starting design courses at the bachelor’s level. Isn’t that a step forward? Certainly it is. The National Institute of Design (NID) has been a pioneer and certain IITs have also shown keen interest in it. They have the resources and skills to do that but what is not happening is the coordinating effort for designers. What we are trying to do is bring up an institute, whic
