Betting Big On Digitalisation

Harnessing digitalisation to optimise manufacturing is what will drive growth, and Siemens India says despite macroeconomic challenges facing India, the opportunities in the space are immense.

- Jui Mukherjee

INTERVIEW ENGINEERING AND DIGITAL solutions provider Siemens India has been making all the right noises when it comes to the scope of the digitalisation business—using digital technology to identify efficiencies in manufacturing and other processes. Given the government’s focus on pushing manufacturing, especially with initiatives like ‘Make in India’, it would seem only logical that a company like Siemens place its bets on digitalising India’s factories going forward.

However, with a depreciating currency, higher crude oil prices and concerns over the trade war between the U.S. and China, it seems like the one big engine that was powering India’s growth—government spending—could very well run out of steam. But Sunil Mathur, 55, managing director and chief executive of Siemens India, is unfazed. Speaking to Fortune India, Mathur made the case for doubling down on the company’s bet on digitalisation and explained why he thinks it will revolutionise the way businesses function in India. Edited excerpts:

How has the journey been for Siemens in India so far?

Siemens’ relationship with India goes all the way back to the 1860s when the first telegraph line was drawn between Calcutta (now Kolkata) and London, which the company helped establish. Since then, Siemens has been with India through thick and thin. Today we have around 20,000 employees, 22 factories, and 57 offices in the country. The good news is we’re not just getting German products and selling them here, but we are manufacturing here. So we are deeply entrenched in the ethos of the country. Right from power generation, transmission, healthcare systems, and energy efficiency for buildings, we touch Indians’ lives daily in many ways without them even noticing.