In almost all industries adjustable-speed motor drives are used.Electric drives have inherent advantages over other prime movers.Conventionally, dc motors have been used in such applications.However, moderndevelopments in semiconductor power electronics, microelectronics and artificial intelligence have made it possible to use ac motors in many variable speed drive applications. Introduction of new control techniques, like vector control, variable-structure control with sliding-mode features have made ac motorsviable alternatives to dc motors in high-performance drive applications. These complex techniques have been made possible due to implementation of microprocessors / microcontrollers / microcomputers/soft computing techniques (GA, Fuzzy Logic, ANN). In this paper development of the control is discussed, focusing on recent trends suitable for practical applications in industry with good dynamic behaviour.