Bosch has always been known for its cutting-edge technology, including in the mobility sector. The company completed 100 years in India this year and has also come up with a new smart campus called Spark.NXT, which was launched in July this year in Bengaluru, India. Spark.NXT has several parts to it, along with sustainability and mobility being a prominent focus.

Bosch, a leading supplier of technology and services, has been bringing together comprehensive expertise in vehicle technology with hardware, software and services to offer complete mobility solutions. The Bosch mobility solutions web portal presents highlights from the areas of connected mobility, automated mobility and powertrain systems and electrified mobility. In fact, Bosch is present in all of the mobility segments in India – from passenger vehicles to heavy commercial vehicles and light commercial vehicles to three-wheelers and two-wheelers.

Adding another feather to its cap will be one of the latest steps of the company – expanding its artificial intelligence of things (AIoT) activities in India by transforming its headquarters in Adugodi, Bengaluru, into a new smart campus called Spark.NXT. The inauguration of the same took place in Bengaluru, India, in July this year, also with the company celebrating 100 years of Bosch in India.

Throwing light on Bosch completing 100 years on Indian soil, Soumitra Bhattacharya, Managing Director at Bosch Limited and President of the Bosch Group, India, averred, “In terms of automotives, we have moved from an automotive components manufacturer to a systems manufacturer to a solutions manufacturer.”

Over the last five years, Bosch has invested INR 8 billion in developing the campus, which has the capacity to potentially house 10,000 associates. The 76-acre site is Bosch’s first smart campus in India and features multiple smart solutions based on sustainability, security and user experience for associates, visitors and facility management. It is designed to adapt to the needs of the users, and the smart solutions are innovated on the foundation of Bosch’s technological know-how.

In truth, in the construction phase, a strong emphasis was placed on recyclable materials and the transplanting of trees, ensuring an increase in green cover. 

As an AIoT company, Bosch India leveraged its world-class artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT), automation and digitalisation capabilities to develop its smart campus in pursuit of its vision for a sustainable, self-reliant and future-ready India. To further enhance its R&D capabilities for the new way of working, the company has also trained over 10,000 associates through a comprehensive reskilling initiative over the past two years.

Spark.NXT – what is it?
Bhattacharya explained that Spark. NXT is a curiosity to transition and transform, and to meet the business expectations of not only grabbing the opportunities but co-creating the opportunities of the future.

Filiz Albrecht, Member of the Board of Management and Director of Industrial Relations at Robert Bosch GmbH, who officially took responsibility for Bosch India from 1 July 2022, talked about Spark. NXT and asserted, “Spark.NXT demonstrates our commitment to both sustainability and the well-being of our associates. It features a variety of smart IoT and machine learning (ML) solutions, which are expected to cut energy consumption on the campus by nearly 30 percent. The new campus will be an inspiring environment for our associates that will help them unleash their creativity and spark future innovations.”

In his inaugural speech, the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, said that the Bosch Spark.NXT campus will certainly take the lead in developing futuristic products and solutions for India and the world. “I am happy that Bosch India has worked not only on innovation but also in giving it scale,” he said and added, “A key pillar in this will be sustainability. I was told that Bosch has achieved carbon neutrality both in India and outside of the country, which is very inspiring. Bosch came to India 100 years ago as a German company, and now it is as much Indian as German. This is a great example of German engineering and Indian energy.”

Spark.NXT has been broken into six parts – Spark.Mobility, Spark.Living, Spark.Industry, Spark.Software, Spark.Sustainability and Spark. Culture.

Spark.Mobility
“In mobility, we are talking of green mobility under four core factors – personalised, automated, connected and electrified,” Bhattacharya enlightened and continued, “For the last 12 years, we have worked on safety and reducing road accidents very closely with the Government of India.”

Spark.NXT and collaboration
Bhattacharya further put across that they are trying to do obsessive collaboration, not just with their customers or start-ups but for their group companies. “Many of these legal entities are currently, and will be further, housed inside the campus. We work together with software and hardware engineers, look at what the customers need and co-create the solutions,” he elucidated and continued, “Today, it’s all about where people get together and co-create through collaboration and also create opportunities.”

Giving a concrete example, Bhattacharya said, “Let’s take the example of driver drowsiness in some vehicles. So the emergency brakes, the cockpits, the connectivity and the various aspects that we will further announce in the areas of hydrogen electrification are all simple but clear examples of what we are trying to do.”

“So this campus, with this environment, allows us to get not just internal collaboration but external collaboration as well,” he stated.

Bosch’s sustainable practices
Albrecht further stated that the Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. “We have 128 locations across the globe and the company generated a sale of EUR 78.7 billion in 2021,” she shared and went on, “Bosch is a value-driven company and our commitment to sustainability is an integral part of the corporate culture. The key for us is technology, and as an innovation leader, we develop products and solutions of outstanding quality that help conserve natural resources and improve the quality of life.”

Albrecht went on to mention that as a company, Bosch has a long history of sustainable practices. She asserted, “Sustainability is no longer just a ‘nice to have’. Today, sustainability is our core mission, and we are working hard to live up to our responsibility here. By acting in an economically, environmentally and socially responsible manner, we want to improve the quality of life of the present and future generations as well. The Bosch Group has been carbon neutral since 2020.”

Focusing on carbon neutrality
“While making our own operations carbon neutral was in itself a big step, we are now focusing our efforts on reducing emissions outside of our direct sphere of influence,” Albrecht asserted and continued, “We are aiming to reduce our annual upstream and downstream emissions by 15 percent by 2030. To achieve this, we are, firstly, pursuing a circular economy strategy that involves keeping materials and products into usability for as long as possible. Secondly, we are striving to optimise energy efficiency in our existing products. And thirdly, we are shifting our product portfolio towards carbon neutrality.”

Coming to Bosch India, Albrecht cited that it is playing a key role in carbon neutrality, water management and energy efficiency, and that the people at Bosch India are doing some inspiring work in sustainability. While sustainability is central to a company’s corporate strategy, its success depends on the people. Bosch India wants to create an environment that enables its associates to develop their full potential and contribute to the company’s long-term success. It is preparing its associates for the transformation and helping them to develop personally and acquire new skills.

Investment in electromobility, digitalisation and more
“One more area of focus is reskilling associates and preparing them for the technologies of the future,” Albrecht informed and continued, “Over the past five years, Bosch has invested EUR one billion in this and plans to invest another billion in artificial intelligence, electromobility, software, digitalisation and Industry 4.0, to name just a few, over the next five years. Here as well, India is playing a key role for both our company and the global arena. The country has an advantage of demography and the availability of talent that can power global solutions.”

The importance of diversity
She went on to aver that when it comes to their workforce, they are convinced that their tremendous diversity is one of their most important factors of success. As a global player, Bosch has associates from some 150 different countries, and diversity is one of the core values of the company. The company is working hard at all levels of the Bosch Group to increase its diversity further by also bringing in women in leadership roles.

Coming to India, Albrecht said, “India is a highly diverse country, with a variety of cultures and languages. We believe that India’s diversity is key to its engine of innovation, and we’ll continue to invest in our local workforce in the years to come."

Bosch’s presence in Karnataka
Bhattacharya spoke of the company’s presence in Karnataka and mentioned that Bosch has the largest R&D centre in the world (outside of Germany) in Karnataka and that Bosch Global Software Solutions is headquartered in Koramangala. “Our collaboration with the Government of Karnataka has been there for a very long period,” he mentioned.

He further highlighted, “We transitioned the country from BSIV to BSVI in a record time of three years, where Europe and other countries took eight years. We have also worked very closely with the Government of India for Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”

The Chief Minister of Karnataka, Basavaraj Bommai, who was the Chief Guest at the ceremony, applauded the work done by Bosch India, especially in Karnataka. He asserted, “It is a pleasure to be part of the inauguration of the Spark. NXT Campus of Bosch India. The company has had its presence in the state for several decades now, and it is heartening to host India’s largest smart campus here. Karnataka, primarily Bengaluru, has been a technology hub and houses the largest number of R&D centres across the globe. This campus is another feather to its cap.”

The chief minister further added, “This campus showcases R&D capabilities for both automotive and non-automotive products and services, and I hope that this will elevate the city’s leadership in the field of technology to a greater level.”

Campus walkthrough
The media was even given a walkthrough of the new smart campus, taking them through three of the solutions – Bosch Air Quality Management, Smart Working Solution and Visitor Management System.

Bosch Air Quality Management – Bosch India has already taken a lot of measures inside the new campus to reduce the impact of air pollution. Some of the measures include increased green cover (by 30 percent) and increased green energy – the company has made its entire campus a non-motorised zone. Plus, it has some new initiatives, like paperless work culture, planned.

However, in order to understand the effect of the emissions surrounding the campus (traffic, construction etc.) on the campus, the company has deployed its air quality monitors inside the campus and regularly monitors the data. This data is provided to the associates and is available as real-time information. The data is also made available to visitors on a big screen in the lobby etc.

Smart Working Solution – With the hybrid working model becoming the new norm, this opens up opportunities to reduce some real estate costs by decreasing the number of desks available. Naturally, it becomes important for the associates to know if there are desks available before they go to the office. Therefore, in order to facilitate this kind of flexible working model, Bosch India has come up with a smart solution, ‘Flexi Booking App’. Through this application, associates can check the availability of the desks and book the same from the comfort of their homes.

Another smart solution that Bosch India has come up with is ‘Automated Comfort Assistant’ application. Through this application, associates can provide feedback on how they feel about the office temperature (too hot, too cold etc.), and the system automatically adjusts the temperature based on this feedback so that everyone feels comfortable.

The combination of these two solutions gives real-time usage for facility management to optimise the workplace. This eventually helps in a considerable reduction in the cost of the real estate.

Visitor Management System – The Smart Visitor Management Solution scans a visitor’s face and gives automatic access. Plus, this solution also has a smart locker that works on a QR-based system – when an employee sends an invite to a visitor, the visitor gets a QR code on their mobile. The visitor just has to show the QR code as smart locker and a locker is assigned to them. There is no manual intervention involved; it's all automated.

The benefit of this solution is that it gives the visitor a seamless experience – there is zero dependency and enhanced security.

In order to make the solution much smarter, the company also wants to implement geo fencing (so that visitors do not go into any areas of the campus where they are not supposed to go), go cardless and include a robot to assist visitors around the campus.

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Hindustan Zinc Limited, India's sole and the world's biggest integrated zinc producer, said today that its Board of Directors has authorised the first phase of investments to double production capacity.

This development is in line with the robust rise in the demand for steel both domestically and internationally. Over the next five years, the company intends to increase its capacity for producing metal and silver, increasing its overall production capacity to over 2,000 KTPA and 1500 tonnes, respectively. In addition to expanding related mines and mills throughout its operations, the Board has authorised the proposal to establish a new 250 KTPA integrated smelter at Debari in the Udaipur area of Rajasthan. The company’s current metal production capacity is 1.1 million tonnes. At a total cost of over INR 120 billion, the project is expected to be finished in 36 months.

This is an important development since it coincides with the ongoing global zinc market shortage. Silver output has increased more than 20 times, while zinc production has increased four times since the government sold up its share in 2002 and the Vedanta Group bought it. Holding the second-highest zinc reserves and resources in the world with more than 25 years of mine life, the firm is one of the lowest cost zinc producers in the world.

Arun Misra, CEO, Hindustan Zinc Limited, said, “We are excited to announce this 2x growth project towards doubling our capacity across zinc, lead and silver, which is strategically aligned with the country’s expanding economic landscape, increasing demand opportunities and keeping country self-reliant for Zinc. By closely matching the pace of national growth, we are confident that this will create significant value for our stakeholders and drive long-term success.”

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India’s automotive industry could face fresh supply chain disruptions by mid-July 2025 due to declining inventories of rare earth magnets, following tightened export restrictions and shipment delays from China, according to rating agency ICRA.

Jitin Makkar, Senior Vice President and Group Head – Corporate Ratings at ICRA, cautioned that the situation echoes the semiconductor shortage of 2021–22, which led to the loss of nearly 100,000 passenger vehicles. “Rare earth magnet inventories are projected to last only until mid-July 2025 for several passenger vehicle and two-wheeler applications,” he said.

Neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets, critical for high-performance uses like EV traction motors and power steering systems, are heavily imported – around 85 percent of India’s USD 200 million imports in FY2025 came from China. These magnets make up nearly 30 percent of an electric two-wheeler motor’s cost, with motors priced between INR 8,000 and INR 15,000 depending on specifications.

To counter the supply challenge, Indian OEMs and auto component manufacturers are exploring several alternatives: importing fully assembled motors from China, sending rotors to China for magnet assembly, using substitute materials with similar properties, or switching to rare earth-free motors using electromagnets. However, each option faces significant logistical, regulatory, and engineering hurdles.

While the immediate impact could disrupt production planning, ICRA believes the crisis may also drive innovation and diversification in both materials and supply chains for the Indian auto sector.

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Hyundai Mobis, a part of Hyundai Group specialising in manufacturing of auto components, modules & systems, has developed a new rear safety control technology that can reduce rear-end collisions.

The company states its new active control technology uses sensors to detect approaching vehicles from behind and manoeuvre the vehicle out of danger, is expected to hit the market soon. It integrates sensors such as rear-side radars and front cameras with driving control technology.

The solution works when the driver engages the Smart Cruise Control (SCC) function on the highway. When the sensors detect any other vehicle at a proximity of 10 metres or less, it first emits an audio alarm or a visual warning on the cluster. When the situation keeps persisting after a certain amount of time, the vehicle automatically accelerates to maintain a safe distance. In addition, the rear side radars also detect the movement of the vehicle behind, while the front camera recognises the lane and vehicle ahead on the driving path to assist in safe acceleration.

Hyundai Mobis acknowledges that while some global OEMs have already integrated such technology, the functions are not yet advanced enough for the vehicle to control itself autonomously. On the other hand, its technology is able to independently adjust the distance between the front and rear vehicles and avoid dangerous situations.
The Korean company plans to further expand the scope of autonomous control for defensive driving against rear vehicles. Currently, the company is developing a lane-changing function to escape dangerous situations, in addition to an acceleration control function that allows the vehicle to speed up on its own.

Jung Soo-kyung, Executive Vice-President and Head of Automotive Electronics Business Units, Hyundai Mobis, said, “We will actively protect the safety of mobility users by providing solutions that can intelligently handle not only front-end safety, but also dangerous situations caused by rear vehicles while driving.”

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HARMAN, a leading automotive technology company and subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, has unveiled an advanced in-vehicle display that elevates the driving experience with consumer-tech-level visuals. This cutting-edge display, set to debut in the all-new Tata Harrier.ev, represents the first automotive integration of Samsung’s proprietary Neo QLED technology, exclusively licensed and optimised by HARMAN for vehicle applications.

The new 14.53-inch floating Neo QLED display delivers stunning home-theatre-quality visuals with vibrant colours, deep contrast and enhanced brightness, all powered by intelligent algorithms and a sleek, modern design. Engineered to perform flawlessly in all lighting conditions, the display incorporates HARMAN’s proprietary real-time visual control technology, which dynamically adjusts image output to optimize power efficiency. Among its key innovations are the industry’s first cadmium-free Quantum Dot display with intelligent Blue Mini-LED control, 1200-nit peak brightness, true black levels and an expansive 95 percent NTSC colour gamut. The ultra-slim design, featuring bezels under five mm, ensures a seamless and sophisticated aesthetic.

This breakthrough builds on HARMAN’s longstanding partnership with Tata Motors, which began with the integration of JBL audio systems in Tata vehicles across India. With the Harrier.ev, the collaboration now extends to premium branded displays, reinforcing both companies’ commitment to innovation and superior in-car experiences.

Shilpa Dely, Vice President – Displays, HARMAN, said, “We’ve brought together Samsung’s cutting-edge consumer display innovation and HARMAN’s deep automotive expertise to create something truly unique: a first-of-its-kind, in-vehicle visual experience that brings living room TV-level brilliance to the road. We have finally closed the gap between consumer and automotive display technology – and we’re proud to debut this global breakthrough with our trusted partners at Tata Motors.”

Anand Kulkarni, Chief Products Officer, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Limited, said, “We’re committed to delivering world-class technology to Indian consumers. Together with HARMAN, we're bringing the best of consumer display innovation in India’s most capable SUV, the recently launched Harrier.ev, transforming it into a true third living space after home and office. This collaboration sets a new standard for in-cabin experiences – not just in India, but around the world.”

Sanjeev Kulkarni, Vice President – Sales, HARMAN, said, “Our partnership with Tata Motors spans more than a decade and is built on a like-minded approach to innovation, along with a joint promise to deliver the very best in-cabin experiences to our customers,”. “From JBL premium audio to advanced intelligent cockpit solutions, HARMAN is a defining part of the Tata driving experience. With the introduction of our new display product, we’re proud to take that collaboration even further.”

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