Indian manufacturing: Today and tomorrow

As human civilisation moves faster towards further milestones in development, the very concept of development itself seems to change. While the wheel of the economy essentially drives development and vice versa, societies too have undergone a massive transformation. The article traces down evolution of the manufacturing industry and talks about the next revolution in the manufacturing era.

- Dr Ravindra Utgikar,

Just as Industry 4.0 is a culmination of industrial evolution, even society has also experienced evolution. Earlier phases in the evolution of society were the hunting era, the farming era, the industrial era and the information era.

Studies have established a confluence in the evolution of society and industry. We, therefore, should look at them together and not in isolation. The manufacturing sector is regarded as the backbone of both social and economic development. The manufacturing industry in India, today stands at the cusp of unprecedented global opportunities. It must walk a tightrope between leveraging those opportunities and not letting them adversely affect society and the environment in any way.

The emergence of manufacturing

Being one of the most flourished civilisations around the Indus valley, India has been an agrarian economy for centuries. It is no surprise that agriculture constitutes a significant share of India’s GDP even today. Agriculture and industry have been two strong pillars of the deep-rooted economy worldwide. We are now witnessing the service sector make strong inroads into economic growth. Although the industrial revolution around the world started in the 18" century, it was only postindependence that things started rolling for India.

Initially, industrialisation in India was mainly focused on manufacturing finished products from the raw materials provided by the agriculture sector. The manufacturing sector has contributed immensely to modernisation of the farming and agri-processing industries. Subsequently, it has spread wings in tertiary sectors and much beyond in secondary areas. In the process, it has helped minimise dependency on agricultural income by creating jobs and entrepreneurship. However, things have moved ahead rapidly since liberalisation and the emergence of the computer age.