Industrial Automation Magazine India

India is on a path of becoming the hub for hi-tech manufacturing

Published on : Tuesday 05-04-2022

Sameer Gandhi, Managing Director, OMRON Automation, India.

We have been hearing about robots in the Indian Industry. What is the extent of penetration today? Which industry segments are the major users?
Robots started manifesting, effectively, in the manufacturing world around five decades ago and have been steadily gaining attention globally. As per the International Federation of Robotics, while the global average robot density in manufacturing industries stands at 74 robot units per 10,000 employees, adoption in India has been slow. The data from IFR (2021) states that the number of robot installations in India grew at a CAGR of 20% between 2013-2018, India’s current robot density (number of robots deployed per 10,000 employees) is only around 4 (IFR). In fact, Installations in India dropped by 25% to 3,215 units in 2020.
 
Bigger manufacturers like automotive, secondary packaging, FMCG, and consumer electronics have made considerable progress in adopting both robots and cobots.
 
What lessons are learnt out of the pandemic situation for deployment of robots? Do you foresee a rush to deploy robots post-Covid?
The post pandemic times have been witnessing an increase in inclination towards robotics adoption in manufacturing primarily due to the following reasons:
1. Motivation: to achieve enhanced productivity
2. Aspiration: to secure consistency and resilience in production & supply chains
3. Confidence: to produce high-quality goods. The emotion is no longer ‘Make in India’ only. The Indian makers want to ‘Make in India for the world’.

Do recent policy initiatives like PLI scheme for electronics industry, Semiconductor manufacturing, large 2-wheeler EV plants, etc., augur well for robotic automation?
Yes, I believe so. With initiatives like these, India is on a path of becoming the hub for hi-tech manufacturing as evident by the investment done in setting up manufacturing plants by global giants in the country.

The Production Linked Incentive schemes, introduced by the government first in March 2020, and later in November 2020, cover 13 important sectors ranging from automotive components, white goods, and aviation to renewable energy, and are expected to show very positive results in making domestic manufacturing more competitive via creation of national manufacturing champions with localised production bases and supply chains. This is going to translate into a significant rise in needs of enhancing technology and export capabilities leading to more business opportunities for robotic automation providers. Minimum production in India as a result of this scheme, is expected to be over US$ 500 billion in 5 years.
 
Another notable aspect is the rising consideration towards developing smart cities, EV vehicle production and infrastructure and industrial corridors. With all this, one can expect a strong movement and development in the infrastructure segment in the near future which will surely assist in giving a strong impetus to industrial development leading to opening of more vistas for adoption of robotics technology.

Having said all this, I would also like to highlight the delivery challenge created by the worldwide post pandemic semiconductor and resin shortage. Though manufacturers are trying to take care of it by adopting measures like increasing the production capacity, redesigning products so as to move away from hard-to-find components, and renegotiating with suppliers to increase allocated production volume, it might take some more time for us to see the major improvements. The positive indicator is high order booking but the downfall is that it’s impacting makers’ ability to deliver to customers.
 
Are the capabilities of system integrators to design and deploy robots strong enough? What initiatives from industry bodies and government are needed?
A lack of a strong and sound partner ecosystem is a notable hurdle for adoption of robots in India. Most robot/cobot requirements are unique and need to be run like small projects. These require some mechanical additions or modifications on the customers’ existing setup. While larger organisations may be able to run some of these projects on their own, MSMEs usually do not have the required skill set to execute such projects. This is where the role of system integrators (SIs) comes into the picture. They marry the robot/cobot with the required mechanical design and implement it at customer locations. While India has many such SIs, we require a substantial increase in their number. Although, given the availability of technological skill-sets and an entrepreneurial mindset, it is only a matter of time before this ecosystem develops rapidly.
 
Globally, use of robotics in non-traditional sectors – food & beverages, hospitals & hospitality, sewage & waste segregation – is rising. What is the Indian scenario?
For India, the growth in non-traditional sectors is slow. They have been mainly used in sectors led by consumer demand and high volume industries such as automotive, FMCG and digital. The key applications used are:
1. Pick & Place: Simple activities like picking and placing in a matrix or palletizing, but also complex ones like identifying randomly oriented objects and placing in precise matrices. The robots deliver precision, and speed to the applications leading to greater levels of productivity and quality.
2. Goods Movement: Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) and Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) will surely have an important and greater role to play in the Indian industry.
3. Quality Inspection & Precision: especially for the tasks which require a very high level of precision where makers do not wish to depend on manual intervention. Handling naked food like chocolates, cookies, sea food, etc., also fall under this category.
 
(The views expressed in interviews are personal, not necessarily of the organisations represented)