We will review the state-of-the-art in simulations of weakly-ionized non-equilibrium plasmas for material processing and lighting. The emphasis will be placed on fluorocarbon plasmas for manufacturing of silicon based semiconductor devices, plasmas of rare gases for excimer lamps and hydrocarbon plasmas for deposition of diamond-like carbon films and carbon nano-tubes. Electron kinetics plays a crucial role in simulations of these plasmas. We will illustrate specifics of electron kinetics in radio-frequency inductively coupled and capacitively coupled plasmas, and also in direct current and dielectric barrier discharges. We will evaluate the availability and quality of electron collision cross sections (total and differential) for elastic collisions with neutral species, excitation of electronic levels of atoms and rotational & vibrational levels of molecules, and their effect on the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) and plasma chemistry. We will also describe data needs for calculation of ion transport properties including polarizabilities & charge exchange collision data. Among the crucial data needs for simulations of industrial plasma sources are validated gas-phase chemical reaction mechanisms including electron-induced reactions and gas phase reactions among heavy species. The plasma/surface interactions and current knowledge of surface reactions will be also described for several applications.