CII-ACMA-SIAM Seminar on World Class Manufacturing Technologies in the Automotive Industry
Minister calls for making ‘technology more affordable’

New Delhi, Delhi, India, Wednesday, January 16, 2002 -- (Business Wire India)

"Make technology more affordable," exhorted Manohar Joshi, Union Minister of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises, in his inaugural speech at the sixth annual International Conference on World Class Manufacturing Technologies in the Automotive Industry, which opened today. Organized jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Automotive Components Manufacturers Association (ACMA) and the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the two-day seminar has about 100 participants, including speakers from India, Korea, Japan, Germany and Sweden, among other countries.

Commending the industry for the remarkable growth in the last decade, the Minister said that the focus in the ensuing decade would continue to be on technologies to do with fuel efficiency, emissions and safety. "This is the international trend, and Indian industry must not lag behind in this if it is to remain globally competitive," he said. The government is committed to implementing the recent recommendations of the Mashelkar Committee on auto fuels and emissions, and plans to earmark additional budgets for establishing additional emission testing facilities. "The auto industry has begun manufacturing cars following Euro III norms," the Minister added.

Joshi also highlighted the need for greater collaboration between the auto and IT industries, saying that smart electronics technologies play a major role in safety and fuel efficiency, and would also help in cost reduction. "Tomorrow belongs to cost effective quality producers," he said in conclusion.

Briefly outlining the profile of the automotive components industry, ACMA Vice President Deep Kapuria said that it has "provided high value addition to several brands." The industry's US$ 4-billion turnover on a US$ 2.2-billion investment is a remarkable achievement, he said, evidence of its continual efforts to make optimal use of and give value to customers.

"The industry needs to benchmark itself as a solutions provider now," Kapuria commented, "and move up the value chain." The incorporation of smart electronic technologies in automotives, increased productivity and price reduction are needed, he added.

Abhay Firodia, past SIAM president, presented an analytical history of the automotives industry, "the way it functions and deals with competition." The 1960s and 1970s saw the founders of the Indian auto industry focus on planning and localization, the 1980s was the time of 'Maruti-isation', with liberalization in imports of components and technology, and the 1990s has been the decade of globalisation, with the Indian industry getting integrated with the global market.

"But," cautioned Firodia, "the Indian auto industry is beset by 'technological and export pessimism', and an unwillingness to scale up. We are working mainly at the tail end of the technologies, and in that sense the industry today has gone backward in comparison to the 1960s, which had a passion for moving ahead, but faced government restrictions."

Hari Bhartia, CII chairman for the northern region, presented the welcome address, while Ramesh Jain, chairman of the CII sub-committee for manufacturing competitiveness, presented the concluding remarks to the inaugural function. Jagdish Khattar, chairman of the conference and CII (northern region) deputy chairman, presented the theme of the conference.

Among other issues, the two-day seminar will discuss fuel efficiency, automotive electronics, safety, vehicle structural design, various systems, and the trends and the challenges before the industry.