Proactive government initiatives have been instrumental in reviving growth
Published on : Thursday 10-10-2019
Five years after the launch of Make in India, what is the impact on the ground?
Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) account for 45% of India’s total manufacturing output and employ around 40% of its workforce. The Indian manufacturing sector has witnessed a steady recovery in the last 2 years, with the growth rate increasing from 2.8% in 2015-16 to 4.4% and 4.6% in 2016-17 and 2017-18 respectively. According to data from the World Bank’s Doing Business Report 2019, India has improved its ranking in 6 of the 10 indicators measured by the World Bank. The two most significant improvements were those in construction permits and trading across borders. Other indicators where India gained ground are starting a business, getting credit, getting electricity, and enforcing contracts. India’s SME sector has been known to be one of the primary drivers of its economy.
Proactive government initiatives like Make in India, a forward-looking FDI Policy, Digital India and Skill India, along with the improving rank in the Ease of Doing Business Index, have been instrumental in reviving growth. As we aspire to become a USD 5 trillion, with manufacturing contributing USD 1 trillion, the journey needs to keep pace and also requires support through deeper reforms and a simplified regulatory regime in various areas. As manufacturing grows at a higher rate than GDP, the growth rate needs to be in double digits to ensure adequate employment opportunities for our growing and young labour force.
Our recent analysis revealed that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are expected to play a leading role in adoption of Social, Mobile, Analytics, and Cloud (SMAC) in India. The Government is investing heavily in Infrastructure like highways, renewable energy, urban transport, etc. The expenditure on infrastructure is creating lucrative employment opportunities in contract modes. Similarly, under the MNREGA, each beneficiary gets an average 46-50 man days of work. The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) reports that it created an additional 690 million man days in 2017 compared to 2015. This translates to an additional 14 to 15 million beneficiaries whose incomes have grown.
There is a shortage of skills as there is also unemployment. How to break this logjam?
The future of jobs is largely impacted by factors such as technology, globalisation and demographic change (34% of the Indian population comprises of millennials). According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report, 75 million jobs may be displaced by machines, while 133 million additional new roles may emerge concurrently. Therefore, to prepare for the future of work and stay competitive, companies and talent alike will need to skill, re-skill and up-skill.
Employability data reports female employability score increased to 46% in 2018 from 38% in 2017, while male employability score increased to 48% in 2018 from 47% in 2017. Increased participation of women at work can help the Indian economy grow at a rate of 9% to 10%. In order for this to happen, we need to encourage more women entrepreneurs, gig work for working women and ensure the safety of women at work.
What are the outcomes so far of the various government initiatives under Skill India?
The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is catalysing capacity creation for vocational training by providing funding and support to corporates and organisations that provide skill training. They have developed a robust network of training partners 302 of these are funded, 115 are Non-Funded and 13 Innovation Partners, along with 38 operational Sector Skill Councils. Taking stock of the achievements in FY 2017-18, NSDC’s fee-based training partners have trained 33% more candidates and placed 17% more candidates as compared to that in FY 2016-17.
The flagship scheme of the Skill India Mission, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY 2016-20), in its second year (FY 2017-18), crossed yet another milestone, felicitating the placement of more than 4.52 lakh skilled candidates from across the country, which is more than 60% of the total certified candidates. Promoting inclusive growth, the scheme is transforming the lives of individuals, enabling them to secure a stable and sustainable livelihood.
How does TeamLease help the Indian manufacturing sector in this challenge (with its vocations training and skilling initiatives)?
National Employment through Apprenticeship Program [NETAP], a flagship apprenticeship program of TeamLease Skills University, has reached new milestones by cumulatively enrolling and training about 1.3 lakh candidates pan India. The program has successfully certified and placed about 40% of the enrolled trainees into formal employment across industries. The adoption has increased across all the sectors, and the maximum growth was seen in the manufacturing segment (about 12%), followed by 10% growth in retail, 8% growth in logistics and supply chain management and 5% growth in BFSI.
Exclusive research on 5G for industrial communication revealed
The latest whitepaper from HMS Networks shows that half of the industry professionals are clearly positive about 5G in manufacturing.
HMS Networks, a global leader in solutions for industrial communication and IIoT, surveyed 50 international industry professionals in spring 2019 to inquire about the positioning of wireless communication in their companies and to see how they are getting ready for the launch of 5G. HMS’ whitepaper titled “5G: Is the Industry ready?” presents the results of this study and provides state-of-the-art insights into the current situation in the manufacturing industry in terms of 5G preparedness.
The whitepaper from HMS Networks provides an overview of the industry’s opinions towards 5G technology as an emerging trend and future standard in the manufacturing and industrial automation industry. It also touches on the use of wireless technologies in the industry today and future directions of this technology.
Key findings include:
• More than half (54%) of the interviewees indicated using wireless communication solutions for remote monitoring and remote operation of assets. One third of the respondents (34%) stated that their companies were using wireless communication for different kinds of IIoT.
• Half of the interviewees (48%) were clearly positive about 5G in manufacturing – they mostly appreciated that the technology will replace cables, unreliable Wi-Fi, and the many industrial standards in use today.
• For the majority (58%) of the respondents, the reliability and robustness of wireless systems plays a decisive role in whether to adopt 5G or not, and this was voiced equally by representatives of OT and IT. Low latency was mentioned as important by more than a quarter (26%) of the interviewees.
“The survey clearly showed that the industry is getting increasingly aware of 5G benefits for industrial communication. What the industry really needs is technical information and practical examples” says Marcela Alzin, Program Manager at HMS Labs at HMS Networks, who conducted the research. “This is why I created a fictional model of a typical OT professional and his attitude towards 5G. This should help to better understand the situation on the market“.
Download a complimentary copy:
https://www.hms-networks.com/industrial-iot-solutions/5G/ready