By T. Murrali
In cities like San Francisco and Shenzhen, driverless cars are no longer experiments – they’re already moving people around. But India poses a very different challenge. Could an autonomous vehicle handle Gurugram’s unpredictable lanes or squeeze through Bengaluru’s chaotic traffic at peak hour?
According to Mr. Shitendra Bhattacharya, Country Head & Director – India, Emerson T&M, the answer isn’t if, but when. India may not jump to full autonomy overnight, but step by step, the country is gearing up for its own version of driverless mobility.
India has already begun moving toward autonomy. Large automakers like Tata Motors, Mahindra and Ashok Leyland are steadily adding smarter driver-assist features to regular vehicles on the road. At the same time, young startups such as Minus Zero, Swaayatt Robots, Flux Auto and Flo Mobility are attempting something far bolder: building vehicles that can drive themselves in India’s messy, unpredictable traffic.
Solving Problems
What makes this journey possible is the timing. AI chips have become faster and cheaper, 5G networks are spreading, and India has one of the strongest software engineering talent pools in the world. As Mr. Bhattacharya puts it, “We don’t just apply Western technology — we solve problems no one else in the world has.”
And India is unique. “Anyone who has driven on our roads knows why. Cows strolling on highways. Cars suddenly changing lanes. Pedestrians appearing out of nowhere. Lane markings that simply vanish. Autonomous driving here requires learning to manage chaos, not order,” he explains. Add patchy internet outside cities, inconsistent mapping, and the absence of clear regulations — and the challenge becomes even tougher. But that’s what makes India’s journey exciting. If a car can drive itself here, it can drive itself anywhere.
Small Steps, Giant Leap Ahead
India isn’t jumping straight to robotaxis. Instead, companies are starting small — testing autonomous tech where it’s safer and easier to learn from real roads. Swaayatt Robots from Bhopal is already running Mahindra SUVs that drive themselves at speeds of up to 50 km/h. Flux Auto is developing self-driving trucks that operate inside mines and industrial zones, places where unpredictable traffic is limited.
Flo Mobility is deploying compact, driverless shuttles inside IT parks and private campuses. And Minus Zero, backed by fresh funding, is exploring a unique “nature-inspired AI” approach designed to work with fewer sensors than traditional systems. These pilots may not be fully driverless yet, but they prove something crucial — autonomous technology can learn and adapt in India’s messy, real-world traffic. Each trial is a stepping stone toward bigger breakthroughs, he pointed out.
Slow, Steady and Strategic
Developing autonomous vehicles is expensive — not just in technology, but in time. Big ideas like robotaxis and driverless logistics sound exciting, but the business models are still forming. Companies can’t expect instant returns, and that’s why the smartest players are treating AVs as a marathon, not a sprint, he observed.
“The real opportunity lies in seeing the car as a software platform rather than just a machine on wheels. Instead of trying to perfect everything at once, companies are investing in systems that can be updated, improved and refined over time — just like a smartphone. This makes development flexible and helps spread out costs,” Mr. Bhattacharya said.
Rather than chasing global autonomy standards from day one, Indian companies are focusing on solutions that work for India first — limited geographies, specific use cases, learning from every deployment. Partnerships also play a huge role. By collaborating with OEMs, tech service providers, and research institutions, companies reduce the financial burden and gain stronger validation through shared expertise. The approach is simple: invest wisely, test in real conditions, and let the technology mature at a steady, sustainable pace, he added.
Trust, Safety, and the Human Factor
When a self-driving vehicle must react in a split second, people often frame it as a moral dilemma: who should the car save? But engineers see it differently. The goal isn’t to make philosophical decisions — it is to build systems that always prioritise safety. Instead of choosing between two bad outcomes, the vehicle should be trained to avoid the crash altogether or choose the path that reduces harm. This depends on how the algorithms are designed, tested, and refined. Companies now use simulations and replay real-world scenarios — sudden pedestrians, stray animals, unclear lanes — to see if the vehicle consistently makes the safest possible choice. Ethical behaviour, in this context, comes from predictable engineering, not subjective judgement.
Guarding Every Byte
But safety isn’t only about avoiding accidents — it’s also about protecting data. Autonomous vehicles constantly collect information from cameras, sensors, maps and user devices. That makes them potential targets for hacking or data misuse. Security must therefore be built into the system from day one, not as an add-on later. Data should be encrypted, stored securely, and anonymised to protect identities. Engineers stress-test the system by running cyberattack simulations to check how it reacts and recovers. Every decision and data exchange must be traceable, so incidents can be understood and prevented in future, he noted.
Ultimately, trust in autonomous mobility will be earned through safe engineering, secure data handling, and transparent collaboration among automakers, cybersecurity experts, and regulators.
Confidence Through Consistency
Even if the technology works perfectly, people won’t embrace autonomous vehicles until they trust them. Today, surveys show that most people are nervous about self-driving cars — and that hesitation is even stronger in India. Trust will only grow when people see driverless vehicles performing safely in real situations, just the way acceptance of electric vehicles grew only after people experienced them.
That’s why, he said, companies are starting small — controlled shuttles inside campuses, autonomous trucks inside factories — proving that the tech can work before it moves to open highways. Once people see safety in smaller environments, confidence will follow.
The Regulator’s Role
India doesn’t yet have a specific law for autonomous vehicles, but the direction is positive. Karnataka and Maharashtra are evaluating pilot projects, and the government’s push for smart roads, digital logistics, and intelligent traffic systems will naturally pave the way for autonomous trucks, delivery robots, and eventually robotaxis. Regulation will decide how fast India moves.
Defining Accountability in a Driverless World
If a self-driving car is involved in an accident, the blame can’t fall on just one person. Autonomous tech involves hardware, software, connectivity, and sometimes the human sitting inside. Accountability, therefore, needs to be shared — clear and transparent.
- Vehicle manufacturers should be responsible for the physical safety of the car — sensors, brakes, emergency fail-safes.
- Software developers should own how the system perceives the world and makes decisions. Their algorithms must be tested, explainable, and traceable.
- Users may still share responsibility in lower autonomy levels (where they must take control when needed). But at full autonomy (Level 4–5), the system provider must take primary accountability.
India should follow an aviation-style framework — every autonomous vehicle should have a “black box” recording sensor data and decisions. If an incident occurs, investigators know exactly what happened and who is responsible. Trust won’t be built on promises of zero errors. It will be built on zero confusion — a system where responsibility is defined and transparent, he emphasised.
Steering into the Future
For autonomous vehicles to truly succeed in India, the journey needs to begin in the right environments. Mr. Bhattacharya believed that the first step is not robotaxis on public roads, but controlled spaces where driverless tech can learn safely without battling unpredictable city traffic. What helps is setting up dedicated test zones, clear rules for mapping and data security, and training engineers and regulators in this new world of mobility.
That’s why India’s first wave of autonomy won’t look like Silicon Valley’s. Instead of driverless taxis, we will likely see driver-less mining trucks operating in Odisha, warehouse robots moving goods for e-commerce companies, small autonomous shuttles running inside tech parks and campuses, and even farm vehicles that can drive themselves across fields. These use cases solve real problems — improving safety, reducing labour shortages, and boosting efficiency — without needing perfect road discipline or complex city maps.
Autonomous mobility in India won’t appear suddenly or follow a straight path. It will take shape through pilots, experiments, and slow expansion — one campus, one factory, one route at a time. And that is India’s strength. If self-driving technology can survive the chaos — unmarked lanes, sudden obstacles, and traffic that follows its own rules — it can work anywhere in the world. Change is already underway. The question now is: when a driverless vehicle quietly rolls up beside you at a traffic signal, will you smile, worry… or wave, Mr. Bhattacharya concluded.
