It needs no reiteration that data is the new oil. Big or small, all enterprises must capture the value that data offers to promote more sustainable operations while ensuring greater market share and viability. Also, the recent unprecedented challenges have further spurred the adoption of digitisation technology across sectors. For many players, particularly MSMEs in manufacturing, this has been a blessing in disguise because those reluctant to embrace digitalisation due to cost constraints or other reasons soon realised the benefits of doing so.
Atma Nirbharta and ‘Make in India’
In essence, the digitalisation of manufacturing, especially for MSMEs, can help boost the Atmanirbhar Bharat mission under the aegis of the ‘Make in India’ programme. With approximately 63 million MSMEs in India, the segment’s contribution towards GDP is around 29% via national and international trade. Therefore, adopting digital is crucial. Whether it is access to R&D facilities or the ability to sell their products across wider markets, digital is vital in facilitating multiple new opportunities.
Some elaboration is required to understand how this happens. It is well known that Atmanirbhar Bharat is meant to make India a global manufacturing and services hub. As the Centre has clarified, an Atmanirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India doesn’t denote closing the economy. Rather, it’s about connecting the country to global supply chains so India emerges as a universal hub of manufacturing and services. Therefore, the vision will not only be ‘vocal for local’ but ‘vocal for global’ too. This will assist in creating a virtuous cycle of domestic manufacturing for national and international markets.
Significantly, after the pandemic-triggered supply disruptions, the Centre’s focus on Atmanirbhar Bharat is in sync with the growing global trend of many countries shifting manufacturing bases to nations such as India, where incentives and institutional support promote a more conducive environment for foreign entities. Given the criticality of infrastructure in such endeavours, the Centre is going full steam ahead in completing numerous infrastructure projects across India.
In all these initiatives, Universal Automation plays a pivotal role in the success of enterprises by promoting higher energy efficiency and sustainability. With the world fighting an unprecedented war against climate change, decarbonising the global economy needs more than just moving away from fossil fuels while increasing electrification and clean energy options. It also calls for being more efficient and smarter with resources and the use of energy. This is even more imperative when one considers the rising emphasis on ESG (environmental, social and governance) guidelines among all stakeholders across the globe.
In this context, technology and digital transformation have a key role in ensuring lower emissions while driving more efficiency and greater sustainability in manufacturing. All of which benefits the three Ps – People, Planet and Profits.
Enabling Environment
To capitalise on this, one must understand the role of the three enablers: consumption transparency, artificial intelligence and analytics and digital ecosystem collaboration. In the first, the IoT (Internet of Things) permits one to collect and analyse resource and energy data. This provides insights across systems, plants and buildings right up to the enterprise level.
Backed by this visibility, electricity or other resources are no longer just commodities that are merely delivered and then used as needed. Instead, one can measure what is used and then control what is measured, thereby matching consumption to actual demand, the performance of the grid, forecasts, and targets. Here is where the process of decarbonisation begins.
Coming to AI and analytics, data-driven insights can help one make smart decisions based on learnings and measurements derived from facts rather than intuition. Backed by the right data quality and structure, AI can automate or help one make these decisions in real-time, transforming conventional business processes.
Finally, digital ecosystem collaboration is essential to drive more innovation since this is not possible in isolation. Through the right technology partner, it becomes easier, faster and more worthwhile to achieve ambitious sustainability objectives.
Integrating sustainability and digitalisation strategies is essential to drive faster delivery of business outcomes. If this is done, better outcomes are bound to follow. As per Accenture, enterprises that can integrate sustainable and digital transformation into their value chains and operations are 2.5 more likely to rank among the best-performing businesses of tomorrow than those that don’t.
Going by some estimates, as India’s second-largest employment generator after agriculture, MSMEs employ around 124 million people. Almost 14% of these MSMEs are led by women with nearly 60% based in rural regions. It’s no surprise that the Centre had announced MSMEs fall within the ambit of ANBA or the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
Considering these factors, empowering MSMEs in manufacturing via digital transformation will benefit India’s economy with greater employment opportunities across all cohorts – skilled, semi-skilled, professionals and even unskilled workers.
Ultimately, among other elements, adhering to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) parameters through higher energy efficiency and sustainability will help boost domestic manufacturing, facilitating the goal of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.
