Chennai: MTC chief stresses for quality maintenance, spare parts at CII event

CHENNAI: Highlighting the importance of a robust aftermarket for public transport, Managing Director of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), T Prabhu Shankar, said reliable maintenance and making quality spare parts are vital in today's era of intense public and media scrutiny.

The MD delivered the inaugural address at the Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) 11th edition of Auto Serve and Auto Tech conference on Thursday at the Nandanam Trade Centre.

"In an age of proactive media and social media, even a technical glitch in a bus draws immediate public scrutiny," he stated. "This makes the quality, regulation, and robustness of the aftermarket—which supports maintenance, spare parts, and service—absolutely critical for ensuring reliable public transport," he added.

Prabhu Shankar emphasised that forums like CII Auto Serve are crucial for driving standardisation and digital transformation. He encouraged participants to develop actionable recommendations to make India's aftermarket more organised and sustainable.

The conference was themed "Driving the Next Decade: Innovation, Integration, and Intelligence in the Automotive Aftermarket", and brought in senior leaders from government, industry, and academia. The three-day event features over 75 exhibitors, live demonstrations, and panel discussions on key topics like AI, IoT, and Electric Vehicle maintenance.

P Ravichandran, deputy chairman, CII Southern Region, and president, Danfoss Industries Pvt Ltd, Debashis Neogi, chairman, CII International AutoTech Conference and managing director, Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre India, and Ramashankar Pandey, Social Defence Fellow (Indian Administrative Fellowship) and Director (NED), Paracot Products Ltd, were among the dignitaries at the event.