[RM Motorsports]

Union minister Nitin Gadkari has asserted he will not allow driverless cars in India, saying that if autonomous vehicles are brought to the country, 'up to 80 lakh drivers’ would be left unemployed.

“I said in the US itself that I will not allow driverless cars in India at any cost. This is because in our country, a large number of people work as drivers….driverless cars will, therefore, snatch their jobs,” said Gadkari.

Gadkari continued: “…such vehicles are appropriate only for countries with small populations. However, if these come here, around 70-80 lakh people will lose their jobs just like that, and that would be another issue.”

I am guessing the Tesla which we are expecting will have no "AUTO PILOT" mode.

https://www.wionews.com/india-news/w...the-air-670674

[madhukarmohan]

With elections around the corner, this clearly looks like a statement to appease the voters who are drivers and their families. I don't know whether this technology create/remove jobs, but if you don't embrace the technologies, you are the one who is left behind.

[Reinhard]

I think this is the first time I agree with the minister's opinion . While I work in the IT industry, with automation being one of the constants in my day to day life - I'm totally averse to automating things just for the sake of it - while actually not achieving any real benefits.

An automation that takes away jobs of drivers while creating jobs in a different industry (IT etc) is just a waste of money IMO. We have a genuine problem of high availability of manpower and automating jobs blindly - will actually result in more jobless people. Thoughless automation should definitely be avoided.

This particular stand by the minister, hopefully gets a bipartisan support. We need people to have sustained jobs, in ALL industries and fields, for this country to continue its upward trajectory, while also sustaining a somewhat stable law and order situation.

Only automation will not eradicate poverty. Keep all throttles open to achieve that first, then we can start automating things en masse .

[madhukarmohan]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

I think this is the first time I agree with the minister's opinion . While I work in the IT industry, with automation being one of the constants in my day to day life - I'm totally averse to automating things just for the sake of it - while actually not achieving any real benefits.

I concur you on automation taking away the jobs. However, there are so many projects and technologies which takes away existing jobs and create new ones. Aren't expressways stealing jobs of roadside vendors, fuel stations and many? Mobile phones over landlines, EV over ICE? With technology, there is always a group of people who get adversely impacted. All we can do is to adapt and live with it. Honestly, I am not a fan (and many BHPians I believe) of driverless cars as well.

[Nilesh5417]

It's just a political statement prior to the election. I would really like to know how many jobs have been lost by driverless cars even in US where some degree of self-drive features are legally allowed. Every second day Tesla gets into a lawsuit and I recently read on Verge that NTSA was pushing Tesla to disable some features unless Tesla truly fixes them.
But given the larger context, if US couldn't take to driverless cars yet and probably is atleast 2 decades away (wild guess) in getting there, India will probably take a decade more than US or even half a century from today. So the ministers comments are pointless since he won't be sitting in that chair and even our own population may have moved away from these jobs.

[shancz]

While I agree with the conclusion but I think losing jobs would be way down the line for feasibility of deploying self driving/driverless cars on our roads

[vinya_jag]

If he were to accept the fact that they are bound to come to India someday, countdown would begin to make roads as good as they are supposed to be. Its just Escapism, for me

[supermax]

Seems like a typical braindead political statement by Gadkari. His statement about refusing to allow autonomous cars is correct, but his reasoning is idiotic. The players who are trying to enter into the autonomous car market are the ones selling high-end cars which in India would be the luxury++ segment, hardly the segment that would affect the livelihood of these drivers. Are we going to have driverless Tesla taxis? Who is Gadkari trying to kid? The typical Indian tour operator's go-to vehicle is most likely a Toyota, like the erstwhile Qualis or current Innova cars, where there's a driver who can drive you around, doing some baby-sitting when needed, standing in the queue for tickets when needed, speaking the local language, functioning as the defacto tour guide, helping find bargains, helping with loading/unloading luggage etc etc. No Indian who uses tour operators would want to do all of this on their own and rent a self-driving car, even if that becomes the reality! With this statement, Gadkari reveals that he has no understanding of the reality, and instead is content with his own world-view in some utopian parallel universe where musical horns are the solutions to the most acute of problems.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by madhukarmohan

I concur you on automation taking away the jobs. However, there are so many projects and technologies which takes away existing jobs and create new ones. Aren't expressways stealing jobs of roadside vendors, fuel stations and many? Mobile phones over landlines, EV over ICE? With technology, there is always a group of people who get adversely impacted. All we can do is to adapt and live with it. Honestly, I am not a fan (and many BHPians I believe) of driverless cars as well.

There's a difference. This particular automation - will take a low-skill driver's job, and create jobs directly in high skill technology domain (in significantly lower numbers in comparison too, but with higher income maybe) - which is already touching new heights and starting to get saturated somewhat in India.

A highway being developed - still creates jobs in low-skill labour. Remember - building the roads, metro etc - infra projects actually generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs of all types which is definitely what the economy needs. The pros outweigh the cons significantly in this setup. And a roadside vendor, doesn't directly get robbed of roads .

Of course - I agree with the other posts that this also has a political angle and timing with elections. My main point was - this is a rare occasion where I at least agree in principal with the statements of this minister . This has been quite rare!

[Rajeevraj]

Probably a little bit of a moot point. Forget India, even world wide most manufacturers behind driverless cars are now pivoting to the fact that full driverless cars will never become commonplace anytime in the near future. There maybe specific niche use cases where driverless cars will first become common(Example: Robo-taxis in specific geographical areas) but becoming common on the road is a long way away even in developed markets. An ADAS Level 3 is where we are at now and in my view that is where we will be for a long time to come.

[ValarMorghulis]

Reminds me of an article I read where politicians opposed washing machines in India:

In 1991, CPM said in Parliament that washing machines will put maid-servants out of work.

Responding the then PM PV Narsimha Rao said “...then you will remain a country of maid-servants only."

Link to the article

I believe, all this is mere election posturing.

[SmartCat]

Relax Gentlemen, it is just Gadkari being Gadkari.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...s-gadkari.html (Petrol usage will cease in the next 5 years - Gadkari)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...l-gadkari.html (India to soon have cars running on 100% ethanol - Gadkari)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...inister-2.html (Need to discourage people from buying more cars, Union transport & highways Minister!)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...gadkari-2.html (Car horns to sound like musical instruments (Tabla, Flute etc): Nitin Gadkari)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/comme...wani-tune.html (Gadkari: Ambulance sirens to sound like Aakashwani tune!)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...s-gadkari.html (Delhi-Mumbai electric highway in the works: Gadkari)

[supermax]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

There's a difference. This particular automation - will take a low-skill driver's job, and create jobs directly in high skill technology domain (in significantly lower numbers in comparison too, but with higher income maybe) - which is already touching new heights and starting to get saturated somewhat in India.

Not in the least. Most of the lakhs of drivers whose jobs are supposedly threatened drive tourist vehicles where they serve not only as drivers, but also as tour guides, baby sitters, concierges, bargain-finders and what not. I don't see their jobs getting threatened by a self-driving car in any way. What about the super rich who own but don't drive their fancy cars? Who do you think washes their cars? Does the fancy self-driving Tesla wash itself too? I don't see any Ambani washing his own self-driving car, so there too, the so called low-skilled driver (who in reality is a superb multitasker) is not threatened in the least. Self-driving cars don't belong in India, but this has nothing to do with jobs of drivers. There are other valid factors, such as safety in a largely chaotic country. This guy has no idea what he's talking about, and is only posturing before the elections is all.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Probably a little bit of a moot point. Forget India, even world wide most manufacturers behind driverless cars are now pivoting to the fact that full driverless cars will never become commonplace anytime in the near future. There maybe specific niche use cases where driverless cars will first become common(Example: Robo-taxis in specific geographical areas) but becoming common on the road is a long way away even in developed markets. An ADAS Level 3 is where we are at now and in my view that is where we will be for a long time to come.

Self-driving cars are not right for India, but not for the reasons cited by Gadkari. He's just using this as an opportunity to pretend to be a protector of the common man.

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

Reminds me of an article I read where politicians opposed washing machines in India:




Link to the article

I believe, all this is mere election posturing.

Exactly election posturing, nothing more. His decision to not back self-driving cars is sound for India, but not for the reasons he's citing. He's just another dyed-in-the-wool politician who can't think beyond the next election.

[mayuresh]

... As if the driverless cars are roaming all over the world and knocking at India's door!

Hence the statement is just a poll gimmick - anyone with even little knowledge of Indian politics will understand it.

Such cars becoming feasible in a populous country like India is distant enough future for Gadkari to worry about. So he can afford to encash votes by taking a popular stand on a non-existent issue.

And in distant future, if it does become a reality, it won't be feasible to hold it back for too long. Autorickshaws weren't held back for long to appease sizable (back then) number of horse tonga owners. Mobile phones could not be held back to appease so called STD booth owners. His party is also known to have opposed computerization in India for the fear of joblessness in the 80s. Ironically his party is the one that thrives the most on technology today

There will be many examples of such popular stands that don't last too long. But anyway, as far as this issue is concerned it's just a gimmick right now.

[marathp]

Originally Posted by RM Motorsports

Union minister Nitin Gadkari has asserted he will not allow driverless cars in India, saying that if autonomous vehicles are brought to the country, 'up to 80 lakh drivers’ would be left unemployed.
[/url]

Reminds me of the protests against computerisation more than 2 decades ago.. and look at where we are today.

Those who are not aware, there were huge protests in 1990's, from the likes of bank employees against computerisation as they thought that it will snatch away their clerical jobs.