India is well-positioned to benefit from Industry 4.0: CII

NEW DELHI: Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has organised a conference on Hi-tech Manufacturing and Robotics in New Delhi, today.nnAddressing the Summit, Ramesh C Jain, Past Chairman CII Regional Committee on Manufacturing Technology and Competitiveness & Director Hi-Tech Group stressed that global manufacturing landscape is being transformed by digital technologies such as the ?Internet of Things? and robotics collectively called ?Fourth Industrial Revolution? or ?Industry 4.0?. Huge efficiency and productivity gains are being realized through cost reductions, quality improvements, customization and a quantum leap in performance. Increasing investment in these technologies is propelling traditional manufacturing powerhouses of the 20th century back to the top of competition.nnPankaj Dubey, CEO & Director, Eicher Polaris Pvt Ltd shared that Industry 4.0 is the digitisation of the manufacturing industry and a realisation of the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data science. Done right, Industry 4.0 will enable manufacturers to improve efficiencies whilst reducing costs.nnP V Sivaram, Managing Director B&R Industrial Automation, India, said, ?Speed, quality, service, flexibility and global focus are identified as the essential elements for successful manufacturing for the next decade. The manufacturers are measured by their ability to respond quickly to sudden, often unpredictable changes in customer needs and wants.?nnAnuj Kapuria, Co ? Chairman, CII NR Committee on Hi-Tech Manufacturing & Robotics and Founder & CEO The Hi-Tech Robotic Systemz Ltd, spoke about the role of IoT and AI in manufacturing.nnHe said that by 2020, there will be 30 billion connected devices on earth. This is leading to the Big Data Mountain growing beyond recognition. He further expressed that it is now up to manufacturers to unlock this data. The information generated by the increase of connected devices and machines represents a significant opportunity. By determining how to best identify, capture and interpret this increased volume of data, it can help organisations understand their market and customers better, as well as gaining market share.nnSpeaking about the role of IoT in strengthening the MSME sector, Sivakumar Natarajan, Global Practice Head ? Digital for Manufacturing Industries Wipro Ltd said that there are three broad areas which MSMEs need to look at as part of their IoT & broader digital transformation initiatives. Connected Plant – Improve the operational efficiency of physical plant assets, workers and associated processes resulting in improved asset utilization, reduced operating and maintenance costs, while improving uptime and production. Connected Enterprise – Improve the operational efficiency of an enterprise resulting in higher productivity of employees, lower cost of IT infrastructure and optimized supply chain performance. Connected Customer – Improving the effectiveness of marketing, sales, and support of products and creation of new business models to increase revenue.nnThe summit witnessed speakers from various organizations, including Fanuc India Pvt Ltd, Thermax Ltd, ABB Robotics India, Wipro, Hi-Tech Group, Tech Mahindra, Encon Systems, Ascent Intellimation Pvt Ltd, B&R Industrial Automation, Pepperl + Fuchs India Pvt Ltd, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt Ltd, UNO Minda and Eicher Polaris Pvt Ltd, etc.