Auto sector, skills crucial for India’s $30 trillion goal: CV Raman

India’s aspiration to become a $30 trillion economy by 2047 will depend significantly on the growth of the automotive sector and the ability to skill its workforce for future technologies, said CV Raman, former Chief Technology Officer and current executive committee member at Maruti Suzuki India while speaking at the Automotive Skills Development Council’s Annual Conclave 2025.

“We are 7% of the GDP, 50% of the manufacturing and we are the third-largest automotive market in the world. We want to be a $30 trillion economy in 2047 and I believe that mobility is going to be one of the key drivers along with energy which is going to propel India towards this goal,” Raman said.

The senior tech expert said that if India’s GDP multiplies nearly ten times in two decades, the auto industry is going to be almost at today's GDP in the next two decades.

“What the customer is looking for is safety, increased affinity towards new technologies, intelligent features and of course comfort and convenience. That is driving technology,” Raman said, pointing to the growth of electric mobility, autonomous systems, software-driven vehicles, advanced engineering, and digitalization through AI, connectivity, and huge data analysis.

But the scale of workforce readiness remains a challenge. “60% of the engineers are not employable in our knowledge economy today. Only 40% of the people have performed internships and 26% undertake projects. Roughly about 3% of the engineers possess the skills which are required for the future. This is the fact,” he said.

Raman said scaling up beyond “pockets of excellence” is critical. “Limited practical training, limited industry participation in skilling, and lack of world-class skilling infrastructure and incubation centers” remain obstacles, he noted.

Maruti Suzuki has adopted about 22 ITIs and is training about 10,000 students every year for the industry. The company has International Automotive Center of Excellence as a joint venture with the Government of Gujarat where automotive systems, manufacturing are taught to ITI students, diploma students, engineering students and also for other professionals.

Breaking silos, scaling skills for AI future

Skill development needs a shift in approach. “Traditional disciplines of mechanical, electronics, metallurgical need to change. We also need to look at materials, processes, management, software coding, communication technology, AI. Technology silos may need to be broken to create skills relevant for the industry," said Raman.

The senior official added that the approach to bridge this skill gap would be by analyzing the impact of the changing technology, bridge the skill gap to meet the future requirement, collaborate with academia and startups, and develop talent and technology.

“There is going to be a cultural shift, structural changes, and job disruption because of AI, generative AI and automation,” Raman said. “We need to scale up in a big way to cater to this future requirement. The only way to discover the limits of possibility is to go beyond them into the impossible.”