We are living in a world where products are made, consumed and disposed of or recycled faster than any other time in history. With the onward march of globalisation, it no longer matters where something is manufactured - not from a consumer point of view at least. But when it comes to companies or countries, manufacturing competitiveness and being ahead of the technology curve matter more than ever. The extent and sophistication of tech usage differentiates a progressive, profit-making organisation from one that may soon fade into oblivion.
At the heart of this growing use of technology lie the necessities of competition and scarcity of resources. Not only are companies driven to produce more with less but, simultaneously, make things better and bring them to market faster than ever. Customers now demand new, high-quality products and customised offerings at ever shorter time intervals - and firms that cannot meet those demands are headed for extinction. Some of the initiatives that are being taken up by the Indian manufacturing community are: Manufacturing Execution System (MES), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Industrial automation, Integrated Drive Systems, and Comprehensive Energy Management (Courtesy : Business Standard).
India was the partner country for the largest technology Fair ‘Hannover Messe’ held in Apr.’15. Prime Minister Modi invited German investors to visit and do business in India, during his inaugural speech, and said that this exhibition was engineered to amplify India’s clarion call to the World - “Make in India”.
Chinese handset maker Gionee plans to set up a manufacturing facility in India with an investment of Rs 300 crore in the next three years. They sold 4 million phones in India last year and are expected to double their sales this year. Globally, they sold about 28 million devices. Other handset makers like Karbonn and Xiaomi are also looking at setting up manufacturing units in India as the government tries to woo these firms with sops for local manufacturing (Courtesy : ET).
On the green energy front in automotive sector, Amara Raja Batteries has commissioned a four-wheeler automotive battery plant in Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh with an installed capacity of 2.25 million units per annum. This takes the total annual capacity of four-wheeler automotive battery plant to 8.25 million units.
Meanwhile, Vehicle telematics, which is the integrated use of mobile communication, vehicle monitoring systems and location technology, has emerged to be one of the fastest-growing sectors in India. This is mainly driven by the increase in the number of accidents, rising vehicle thefts, security issues while travelling and the demand for navigation services. The growth of telematics in the auto sector is in four types of service areas - safety, information, navigation and remote diagnostics. As per the latest technology trend, an Internet of Things-enabled ‘connected car’ turns the vehicle itself into a hub for an entire ecosystem of connected services that offers consumers a wealth of benefits, including enhanced safety and security, a richer user experience and a new suite of M2M product offerings. An innovative example of telematics in India is in the state of Kerala. The ‘She-Taxi’ service has been launched in collaboration with Maruti Suzuki Ltd and Kerala State Women’s Development Corporation to help women reach their destinations safely (Courtesy : ET Auto).
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Till then, Happy Technology !