Mr Kant emphasised that India should not miss the opportunity presented by the fourth industrial revolution, which will also create new kinds of highly paid and highly skilled jobs. There is an urgent need for more industry-academia collaboration and develop requisite skills in technology, he added. He suggested a compulsory apprenticeship programme to encourage hands-on experience on technology as early as higher secondary level.
The second disruption would be a shift from internal combustion to shared, connected and electric mobility, felt Mr Kant. The earlier India embraces both, the better, he stated. He urged industry to think big and think global. Thinking global will require quality and conformance to global standards which can be achieved through digitalisation, he emphasised. To effectively embrace digitalization, Mr Kant asked the industry to foster competitive advantage across their value chains, focus on productivity and fill productivity gaps to compete globally, fortify quality, prioritize investment in innovation and R&D and invest in lifelong learning of employees.
Dr Jan Mrosik, CEO, Digital Factories, Siemens AG, said that digitalization will bring opportunities to those who embrace it but be a big risk for those who do not. He highlighted that lack of digitalization was the main reason why half of FORTUNE 500 companies disappeared from the list since 2000.
Dr Mrosik added that in the current scenario, digitalization is the best way to fulfil strict business requirement of speed, flexibility, quality and efficiency.
Mr Sunil Mathur, Chairman, CII Smart Manufacturing Council, said that Smart Manufacturing is here to stay. India must start competing at a global level and build competitiveness. He emphasized driving the Smart Manufacturing movement and finding the right model for India.
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