Frugal engineering concept catches on in manufacturing : FROST & SULLIVAN

Encouraged by the strong contribution from the industrial and manufacturing sector, India will shift from a services-based economy to an industry-driven one by 2025. The manufacturing sector could account for a whopping $1,149 billion by 2022 in terms of gross value-added to GDP. Frugal innovation will be the key value proposition in the manufacturing space. Already, business models surrounding this concept have yielded low-cost alternatives for simple goods like tablets and complex
ones such as satellites.
According to the new analysis from Frost & Sullivan on New Mega Trends in India, India will be among the global leaders in at least 10 big markets of the future. For one, it will be the fifth largest exporter and top manufacturer of chemicals worldwide. It will also emerge as the biggest consumer market for luxury goods and technology services such as direct-to-home
TV and mobile apps.
Another area in which India will make great progress is connectivity, with around four billion devices expected to be connected in 2025. The nation’s digital economy will see explosive growth due to the proliferation of devices
and the Internet economy will hit $266 billion in 2020, accounting for nearly 7% of the country’s GDP. “With the Internet boom, online retail will emerge as one of the fastest-growing industries in India, holding a market potential of
$35.08 billion by 2025,” said Frost & Sullivan’s visionary innovation group team leader, Archana Devi Vidyasekar. “This will compel many retailers to move from a bricks only model to a bricks and clicks model that amalgamates online channels with brick and mortar stores.”
By the end of this decade, India will also see the development of smart cities as the country has an ambitious plan to upgrade its urban infrastructure. India will need an estimated investment of $216 billion for basic urban infrastructure
till 2020, out of which $1.2 billion will be devoted to smart city development. India’s promising growth story could however
put pressure on its physical resources such as ground water, which is depleting at a rate of 25 percent. As per current forecasts, the nation could face water stress with a supply gap of 100 trillion litres by 2025. New Mega Trends in India is part of the Visionary Innovation Research (Mega Trends) programme. The study provides an insight into Mega Trends that will
shape India’s economy and society.