Government clears the way for self-driving

India has scrapped the licensing requirement for radar sensors in a bid to make some of the world’s deadliest roads safer, giving automakers free rein to adopt technology that helps cars avoid crashes and drive themselves by sensing nearby objects.

The latest data shows that India, the world’s third-largest car market, could see more than 177,000 deaths in nearly half a million road accidents in 2024.

In a notice on Thursday, the government waived the license requirement for radar sensors operating in the frequency band from 77GHz to 81 GHz. This allows companies to enable the technology without the government separately allocating airwaves.

Automakers Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra will benefit from the change, as will their suppliers like Germany’s Bosch and Continental.

Radar sensors let a car measure safe distances, and drive features like emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and blindspot warning, laying the groundwork for autonomous driving.

The change brings India in line with the United States, the European Union and the global telecommunications standard, all of which dedicate the same frequency bands for vehicle radar.

This allows carmakers and suppliers to use the same off-the-shelf hardware across the world instead of creating India-specific versions.