The automobile industry lists heavy vehicles like the trucks, buses, tempos, tractors, private or commercial passenger cars and two-wheelers. The automobile sector in India underwent a metamorphosis as a result of the liberalization policies by the government since 1991 which included relaxation of the foreign exchange and equity regulations, reduction of tariffs on imports, and refining the banking policies. After the automobile industry opened to direct investment from foreign countries in 1996, global automobile industry majors moved in. Automobile industry in India also received a boost from stringent government auto emission regulations over the past few years. This ensured that vehicles produced in India conformed to the standards of the developed world.

Indian automobile industry has also become an out sourcing hub for automobile companies worldwide, as indicated by the zooming automobile exports from the country. Today, GM, Ford, Hyundai, Honda, Mitsubishi and Toyota have set up their manufacturing units in India. Due to rapid economic growth and higher disposable income it is believed that the success story of the Indian automobile industry is just beginning. Factors influencing the growth of the auto industry include sales incentives, introduction of new models as well as variants and easy availability of low cost finance with comfortable repayment options continued to increase demand and sales of automobiles.

The major characteristics of Indian automobile sector are:

Indian automobile is the second largest two-wheeler market in the world
Indian automobile fourth is the largest commercial vehicle market in the world
Indian automobile is the 11th largest passenger car market in the world
The Indian automobile will be the world’s third largest automobile market by 2030

Trend of Growth of the automobile industry in India:

Growth of exports of 32.8 % in commercial vehicles as against passenger cars
Output of commercial vehicles has grown 2.8 times compared to the 2.2 times increase in passenger cars
Two-wheeler output continues to dominate the figures of the sector
In 2003-04, for every passenger car turned out, there were 7 two-wheelers produced
In the two wheeler segment, there is a greater preference for motorcycles followed by scooters
Mopeds have registered low or negative growth
Export growth rates have been high both for motorcycles and scooters

Scope of the Agri-Biotech Industry

With increased R&D efforts in the agri-biotech industry, the scope of agriculture-based biotech work has become tremendous. Agriculture biotechnologists’ roles are multifarious. From being people with strong scientific expertise to being good administrators and good marketers with sharp business acumens and strong communication skills, the career options for an agri-biotechnologist are vast. Choosing the right avenue is the main priority.

Nature of the Job

Today, with modern technologies like micro propagation which allows for the multiplication of virus-free plants and tissue cultures, agriculturists have successfully combated natural hindrances to productivity such soil imbalances, crop diseases, and genetic breeding. Therefore, the agriculture-based biotech industry needs people who are qualified in the fields of molecular biology, plant transformation and tissue cultures, biochemistry, plant genetics, pathology, entomology, and agronomy for trait evaluation and integration.

Career Options for Agri-Biotechnologists

The field of agriculture-based biotechnology is evolving each day, offering numerous career options. Besides employing people for research and development, the industry also caters to various other agri-biotech-related fields including horticulture, floriculture, dairying, poultry farming, and fishery. Agri-based biotechnologists can also sharpen their academic skills by working with food processing or post-harvest technology, better known as genetically modified (GM) technology.

Career Challenges in the Agri-Biotech Industry

With growing consciousness of the ills of chemically treated foodstuff, changes in approaches to farming are taking place all over the globe. The stage has been set for the advent of bio-chemicals and bio-insecticides, biofertilizers, and biofuels. Agriculture-biotechnology careers are never short of challenges, both natural and man-made. For instance, in the next two-and-a-half decades alone, the world must produce the same amount of food or more than what it produced in the last 10,000 years.

For a biotechnologist, the challenge does not end with producing sufficient amounts of foodstuff. The challenge lies not only in meeting requirements within deadlines but, at the same time, causing minimal harm to the earth. Agriculture biotechnologists have to combat odds like the depletion of precious top-soil at the rate of seven percent in 10 years in order to fulfill the increasing water requirements which will have doubled by that time.

Other Career Options

Several other career openings are available for agri-business graduates. From the more general opportunities within the agricultural and land-based sectors such as equine management, animal science, and horticulture, to global buying and trading of agricultural produce, the opportunities are vast for agriculture biotechnologists.