The 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) is the latest in man’s endeavour to transform lives. The Digital revolution, the precursor to 4IR, set sail the Internet, semiconductors and essentially transformed analog electronic and mechanical devices to pervasive digital technology.
Interrelated innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, robotics, 3D printing and nanotechnology together with applications as diverse as the technologies themselves are combining to form the scope of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The life span of 4IR, which is skewed more towards industrial production with information exchanges between computing infrastructures, shall depend on the societal benefits that it will be able to garner and not on technology alone. Already, AI aided Society 5.0 to develop a Super Smart Society is in mission mode.
Leveraging learnings from other economically advanced countries, India’s industrial and agricultural sectors have the potential to leap frog into 4IR if it could judiciously deploy the right mix of resources, infrastructure and technology. In the land that gave “zero” to the world and with its demographic dividend potential, Make in India is a reality in the making.
India has the right ticks to its 4IR plans. With appropriate regulatory framework, educational structure and government support, India can play a leadership role in the 4IR. The 4IR or KRANTI with its acronym, Knowledge, Research, and New Technology truly depicts the evolving frontier for emergent India.
World recognition of India’s potential was apparent as the World Economic Forum partnered with the Government of India to set up the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in India with drones, artificial intelligence and blockchain as the first three project areas.
25 countries from Europe, North America and East Asia are leading countries out of 100 that are best positioned to benefit from the changing nature of production. These 25 countries already account for over 75% of global Manufacturing Value Added (MVA) and are well positioned to increase their share in the future.
Confederation of Indian Industry, together with its multiple Centres of Excellence has been playing a leadership role in the advent of 4IR in the country.
CII Smart Manufacturing Council was created in April 2017, comprising of industry experts from around 50 companies (service providers and users) to focus on the agenda of Smart Manufacturing in the Indian context. This Council has undertaken significant work to promote the creation of an enabling eco-system that promotes adoption of smart manufacturing at various levels – macro (eco-system), meso (institutions) and micro (firm).
In April 2018, CII worked with the Department of Heavy Industry, Government of India, to formulate a smart manufacturing blueprint which identified key interventions required by various nodal ministries towards fostering adoption of smart manufacturing in India.
At the 4th CII Smart Manufacturing Summit on 26 October 2018, CII launched www.ciismart.in , an online portal which showcased detailed case-studies of around 30 companies that had deployed smart manufacturing in India. The portal outlines the implementation journeys, with details on the challenges faced before implementation, overview of Industry 4.0 solutions and benefits reaped post deployment.
CII also organized an International Learning Mission to Germany from 23rd- 26th April 2018 on the fringes of Hannover Messe to help industry understand the contours of transformation in the manufacturing sector and witness smart manufacturing in action.
CII has been actively advocating the creation of a Government Industry co-led Platform on Industry 4.0 in India, similar to Platform Industrie 4.0, Germany, to not only help synergize activities taken up by various stakeholders but also foster adoption of next generation practices in mission mode. The Platform’s focus will include Norms & Standards, Security & Legal framework for Industry 4.0, Research & Innovation and Skill Development. It will encourage and help high-tech start-ups to expand in-house development of IoT and Big Data capabilities as key enablers of Industry 4.0.
CII is committed to work closely with relevant stakeholders from Government, Associations, multi-lateral agencies and industry to foster adoption on Industry 4.0 in India and contribute significantly towards making India a ‘smart’ enabled nation.