Industrial Automation Magazine India

Data availability remains a key issue

Published on : Thursday 02-04-2020

Dr Makarand Sawant, Technology & Business Visionary.

How do you assess the current state of Indian industry in terms of modernisation?

Industrial modernisation, and advanced manufacturing, are strongly linked to the innovative capacity of regional companies. Industrial modernisation as a transformative process that aims at maintaining or upgrading the competitiveness of Indian manufacturing in an increasingly competitive global environment. Industrial modernisation has to address the upcoming challenges facing manufacturing in India and respond to new opportunities of production, including the changes resulting from digitalisation and other new technologies.

What could be the reasons for the slow pace of modernisation of industry in general despite the availability of technology?
Provision and uptake of advanced manufacturing technologies. Data availability remains a key issue for the uptake of advanced manufacturing technologies, because there are currently no high-quality datasets publicly available. Region- and industry-specific framework conditions to support industrial modernisation.

The automotive industry is a good example but the success is not replicated in, say textiles, where exports are not in line with the potential?
The Indian textile industry has its own limitations such as accesses to latest technology and failures to meet global standards in the highly competitive export market. There is fierce competition from China, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the low-price garment market. In the global market tariff and non-tariff barriers coupled with quota is posing major challenge to the Indian textile Industry. The Indian textile industry is highly fragmented and is being dominated by the unorganised sector and small and medium industries. It is high time for the textile industry to upgrade their technology and implement latest technologies and systems. These measures can enable the industry in becoming competitive in the global market.

At the moment the renewable energy segment in India is growing, but so is the demand. What should be the ideal energy mix?
Each energy option has its advantages and disadvantages. A well-balanced energy mix must be planned while considering factors such as re-examining the costs of nuclear power generation. The most promising renewable source can be the solar energy. Other Renewable- based Generation Technologies include:

Mini hydro – Precipitations and waterways are examples of unexplored opportunities for mini hydro generation. The scale and cost vary greatly depending on the siting.

Biomass – A power plant may run on biomass only (mono combustion) or mix several percent’s of biomass into the conventional fuel such as coal (mixed combustion). Biomass generation may help stimulate the local economy but it should be noted that the cost and supply quantity of biomass fuel depends largely on the type of biomass and the manner in which it is used.

Solar Heat – Steam produced by using heat from concentrated solar radiation drives a turbine to generate power. There are only a limited number of sites in the world that can accommodate such CSP plants.

Oceanic energy, etc – Using tidal movement, tidal energy, ocean current, seawater temperature gradient, salt concentration gradient, etc., as the source of power. These technologies are at an earlier stage of development when compared with other generation technologies.

Since there is no perfect energy option, it is desirable to combine the following four options:
1) More manageable energy conservation
2) Cheaper renewable energy
3) Cleaner use of fossil fuels, and
4) Safer nuclear power.

What more can the government do to boost manufacturing in India with the vision for a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025?
Government can improve region and industry specific framework conditions to support industrial modernisation. Define better policies for enabling growth Government can work on improving:
(a) Working capital
(b) Refill mechanisms for the working capital
(c) Qualified workforce, and
(d) Ability to hold on at competitive sales.

Is sustainable development a difficult goal to achieve for a growing economy like India?
Using recycled materials or renewable resources when building is an example of sustainable development. Building a new community in a previously undeveloped area without destroying the ecosystem or harming the environment is an example of sustainable development. The goal of sustainable development is to meet the needs of today, without compromising the needs of tomorrow. This means we cannot continue using current levels of
resources as this will not leave enough for future generations. Stabilising and reducing carbon emissions is key to living within environmental limits. Climate change is inter-linked with other global, national and local environmental problems and development challenges such as loss of biodiversity, deforestation, stratospheric ozone loss, desertification and freshwater degradation.

Social barriers like population growth, paired with unsustainable consumption and production patterns among the wealthy, are the biggest social challenges to achieving sustainable development in India. Absent of a significant change in human behaviour, sustainability will not be potential.

(The views expressed in interviews are personal, not necessarily of the organisations represented)
Dr Makarand Sawant is a technology and business visionary with 21 years of executive and hands on experience in automating multi-billion dollar enterprises. He is a panelist, speaker, author and writer of many articles on technology and business use cases published by leading magazines and publication houses. Dr Sawant is a celebrity awarded with many national and international prestigious awards for Innovation & Excellence.

#April 2020 Magazine Cover Story

Transforming the Industry. Experts debate the factors that are holding back the Indian industry in quest of modernisation, and improved productivity. Digital Transformation is the buzzword for industry in the wake of the Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0. Like much of India with various States at different stages of development, the Indian industry too is not a uniform entity in terms of modernisation and technology. The automotive industry is perhaps the most automated and leading on the digital transformation front as well, but many other segments, especially the MSME component that forms the largest chunk, are still at various stages of modernisation. To read the full cover story Please click here