BUILDING SMARTER FACTORIES FOR 2040

As Indian manufacturers embrace automation and AI, a human-tech revolution is taking shape—one where factories think, adapt, and grow with intelligence.

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Walk into any forward-thinking factory in India today and you're likely to feel a sense of controlled urgency—a quiet race between tradition and transformation. This is not just about production anymore. It's about reimagining the very DNA of manufacturing: how we design, how we build, and most importantly, how we adapt.

According to Accenture's 2025 report “Rethinking the Course to Manufacturing's Future,” India is not merely catching up in the race toward industrial automation—it's fast becoming a leader. The study, which surveyed 552 factory managers globally (including India), shows Indian manufacturers are among the most confident about integrating humanoid robots, Gen AI, and autonomous systems into their operations over the next 15 years.

In fact, 63% of Indian respondents believe humanoid robots will become a mainstay of their assembly lines by 2040—a figure notably higher than their counterparts in the U.S. (35%) or Europe (21%). This confidence stems from India's unique positioning: a large industrial base with rising tech adoption, coupled with a younger workforce increasingly open to future-first careers.

But this transformation is not just about deploying more machines. It's about redefining how humans and machines co-create value, and how the workplace evolves alongside the technologies it hosts.

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE PROCESS

At the heart of India's manufacturing transformation is a challenge that feels deeply human. While the vision for hyper-automated, intelligent factories is crystal clear, the skills gap is widening. A shrinking pool of experienced workers and a generation less inclined toward traditional manufacturing jobs has placed the onus on companies to not just digitise, but to reskill.