India should become society of design and innovation: Amitabh Kant

While India has proven its prowess in auto manufacturing and has emerged as one of the fastest growing markets for global auto giants, it will have to invest more to enhance its auto designing capabilities to remain on the top. 

“India should become the society of design and innovation to attain & sustain 9-10 percent growth rate, and private sector has a critical role in developing the growth potential of the design industry,” emphasised Amitabh Kant, chief executive officer, NITI Aayog, at the recently concluded CII International Automotive Design Conclave (IADC) 2016 in New Delhi.

While Government of India will very soon open 4-5 more design institutes, he however said that Indian private sector should also open design institutes for nurturing talent and innovating minds. “Indian companies need to think large to penetrate global markets by focussing on exports and becoming an integral part of the global supply chain. Make in India is also about intellectual property rights (IPRs), innovation and continuous improvement. IT companies and manufacturing companies need to work together to create a disruptive culture for creating globally competitive designs. Design is all about simplicity,” said Kant.

While working on new design, Indian auto companies will have to keep in mind the latest trends in market and consumer behaviour to reap the benefit of their efforts. “Indian auto industry needs to be original but in sync with global trends. Ola & Uber are changing the market trends. Indian customer expectations are changing. Besides functional needs, there is a demand for emotional quotient as well, thus enhancing the role of design,” opined C V Raman, chairman, IADC 2016 & executive director (engineering), Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.

Globally, it has been shown that society, culture, technology, marketing, cost, utility, legislation and environment are some of the critical factors shaping the development of new designs and products. Pratap Bose, head of design, Tata Motors, UK, informed, “We hope automotive design will be integrated in smart city planning especially for smart mobility at the conception stage. India should focus on disruptive technologies and leverage its strength in IT and manufacturing.”

To compete with the global counterparts, the Indian companies need to focus on the customer needs. “The companies need to build capability for continuous improvement to gain the competitive edge,” observed S Sandilya, chairman, Eicher Group.

According to Ramesh Jain, co-chairman, IADC 2016 & director, Hi Tech Group, essence of design lies in the process of discovering a problem shared by many people and trying to solve it. Application of creativity in the process of innovation is design, he added.

Government of India is also aiming to make automobiles manufacturing the main driver of Make in India initiative, as it expects passenger vehicles market to reach 9.4 million units by 2026, as highlighted in the Auto Mission Plan (AMP) 2016-26.

“Government has formulated a Scheme for Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles in India, under the National Electric Mobility Mission 2020 to encourage the progressive induction of reliable, affordable and efficient electric and hybrid vehicles in the country. Both the industries and industrial organisations have to explore the development of funding strategies, models & mechanisms for design & development and how the outcome of these strategises can be monetised,” said Girish Shankar, Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.