T capital fast emerging as smart manufacturing hub

Hyderabad: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Telangana chapter in partnership with Government of Telangana on Wednesday organised the 16th edition of its flagship conference at CII's MAN'EXE Conference on Manufacturing Excellence, Man'Exe–2020, with the theme of 'SMART Manufacturing: Resurgence of Manufacturing sector.'

The conference speakers discussed about 'Automating into the future – One step at a time,' 'Adaptive engineering for competitiveness,' and 'New Age Skilling – Remote and Virtual Manufacturing.'

Addressing the conference, Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, Industries & Commerce and IT, E&C, said that earlier PSUs and its ancillary units led the manufacturing revolution in Hyderabad. Now the State capital has emerged as a smart manufacturing hub due to the strong presence of pharma, aerospace sectors. Our pharma manufacturing is considered to be one of the best in the country. Even though COVID had disrupted the supply chains of many sectors, now they are back to the normal. The State government is committed to strengthen the manufacturing sector in the state as it would provide employment opportunities to many people, he said.

Vijay Kalra, Head of Mahindra Institute of Quality & Chairman of Safety Council Mahindra Group, in his address mentioned that Hyderabad is the IT, pharma and engineering capital of the world. He said that the customers have global exposure and the companies are striving to deliver best of the best products. "Quantity, quality and time will go together and in the current scenario where many companies are facing resources constraints, we need to have a strong robust system in place to ensure good quality products are manufactured at low cost," he observed.

D Raju, immediate past Chairman of CII Telangana and MD of Kirby Building Systems & Structures Pvt Ltd, said that now the focus is on Make in India, Make for the World. The companies should inculcate a habit of manufacturing for the world. This can help the Indian industries find their true place in the global value chains, along with propelling them to be among the world's largest companies. To truly progress in the sector of manufacturing, investments in research and innovations are highly important and. industries should strive to increase their investments in these areas.

Krishna Bodanapu, Chairman of CII-Telangana and MD of CYIENT, said that Man'Exe is currently in its 16th edition and over years. It has been in the forefront to lead manufacturing in Telangana towards advanced technologies, improving efficiency and quality. Automation and smart manufacturing have a great potential to propel manufacturing in Telangana. Automation and smart manufacturing will help Indian companies offer quality products at competitive prices, by improving labour and capital productivity.

NLN Raju, Convenor of CII-Telangana and Manufacturing Panel & Vice President, Signode Industrial Group, said that Indian industries should invest in developing new products and services, which will increase the size of the economic pie, along with improving the quality of life of people.

The conference was also addressed by Prof BS Murthy, Director, IIT-Hyderabad, Ram Vetsa, Co Convenor- Manufacturing Panel, CII Telangana & Plant Head- Mahindra, Zaheerabad, Shobha Dixit, Co Convenor, Manufacturing Panel, CII-Telangana & Director of ALPLA Ltd.