Union Minister for Heavy Industries Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey today inaugurated ‘Conference on Industry 4.0: Challenges Ahead and Way Forward’, at Kevadia Gujarat. The Conference being organised by Ministry of Heavy Industries aimed at sensitising industrial sectors in the country to adopt digital manufacturing processes and to promote automation and innovation in the industry.

On the Occasion, Union Minister for Heavy Industries Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey and MoS Heavy Industries Sh. Krishan Pal Gurjar flagged off 175 e buses (from Gujarat and Karnataka under FAME Scheme). Flag off ceremony was virtually attended by the Chief Minister of Gujarat. ‘Model Smart Factory and Assessment Tools’ was also inaugurated on the occasion. During the conference, CMTI, IISC Bangalore, IIT Madras, BHEL and C4i4 presented the steps taken by them towards Industry 4.0.

In his inaugural address Union Minister for Heavy Industries said that India is today emerging as a global manufacturing hub. Referring to the Prime Minister’s address on Independence Day this year, wherein he stated that India must become a Developed Nation by 2047, Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey said efforts are being taken in this direction. He highlighted that while in 2014, India was not included in the group of 50 countries in the Global Innovation Index, but today India is ranked 40th in the world, due to the initiatives of the Modi government taken in the last 8 years. India has overtaken US to reach the second position in the Global Manufacturing Risk Index, he noted.

He hoped that National Conference on Industry 4.0 will bring in more convergence between Industry, Educational Institutions, Youth, Entrepreneurs and Policy Makers. He spoke about several initiatives undertaken by the Government in promoting technology development in the area of ​​Global Capital Goods and to meet the skill requirements for augmenting the manufacturing capacity. Under the Capital Goods Scheme, excellent centres have been set up by the Ministry in which Common Engineering Facilitation Centres, Technological Vibrant Ecosystem have been established, aiding in training the manpower of the country for Industry 4.0.

‘Industry 4.0 is a crucial topic for advancing PM Shri Narendra Modiji’s vision of Make in India & Atmanirbhar Bharat”, said MoS in his address.

Message of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was read out at the conference.  “May the deliberations at the conference help in devising a strategic roadmap for Indian industry to leverage technology to resolve challenges of the future”, read PM’s Message.

The Conference has brought together the industry, academia and government to discuss best practices and strategies to be adopted in manufacturing under Industry 4.0 revolution.

Shri Dilip Sawhney (Rockwell Automation), Shri Sameer Prakash (Siemens India), Shri Mridul Sharma (Kirloskar Group), Shri Sandeep Goel (Bharat Forge) and Dr, Ravindra Utgikar (Praj Industries) discussed how to leverage the powers of Industry 4.0 to attain the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’ during panel discussion.

Shri Shailesh Chandra (Tata Motors), Shri Eric Vas (Bajaj Auto), Shri Kavan Mukhtyar (PwC India), and Shri Vinod Aggarwal (Volvo Eicher) deliberated on the key factors propelling the automotive sector to Industry 4.0 and the challenges causing the slow pace of industry 4.0 during the panel discussion 2.

During the last round of panel discussion Shri Avinash Singh (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India), Shri Gyan Prakash (Tata Steel), Shri Venkat Garimella (Schneider Electric) and Shri Purushottam Kaushik (World Economic Forum India) discussed the key elements required for successful implementation of Industry 4.0 technology

Conference concluded with vote of thanks by Sh. Amit Mehta, Jt. Secretary, Ministry of Heavy Industries

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AD/KP