India must build future-ready manufacturing ecosystems to stay competitive globally: Consumer Affairs Secy Nidhi Khare
New Delhi, June 4
India's manufacturing competitiveness will increasingly depend on building resilient and future-ready ecosystems driven by Industry 4.0, artificial intelligence, advanced automation, and smart supply chains, Department of Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said on Thursday.
Addressing the 11th Conference on Quality Systems for Global Manufacturing Competitiveness and FICCI Awards for Excellence in Quality Systems, Khare said India is emerging as a preferred global manufacturing destination and that the sector will play a key role in achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
"In an era shaped by Industry 4.0, artificial intelligence, advanced automation, smart supply chains and data-driven production systems, the competitiveness of nations will depend on their ability to build resilient and future-ready manufacturing ecosystems," Khare said.
She said manufacturing competitiveness today goes beyond production efficiency and is increasingly linked to innovation, quality, sustainability, consumer trust, technology integration and global competitiveness.
Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the event, Khare stressed that quality remains at the core of economic growth and consumer confidence.
"Quality is not merely a manufacturing perspective, it is the foundation of consumer trust. Every purchase which is made by a consumer represents the confidence that the product is safe, reliable, compliant, and performs as promised," she said.
Khare said India should aim to become a global leader in quality standards over the coming decades.
"We need to now focus our attention on how we become the quality leaders, the trendsetters for the global markets. So quality is not just a pathway to development, it is also a destination in itself," she said.
She noted that India is playing a greater role in international standard-setting bodies and is gaining recognition in emerging technologies, strengthening its position in developing global standards.
Highlighting the importance of standardisation, Khare said innovation must be supported by scientific validation, research and established protocols to achieve scale and wider acceptance.
Referring to the success of gold hallmarking, she said the expansion of testing infrastructure through private-sector participation demonstrated that large-scale quality initiatives can be implemented effectively without direct government ownership of testing facilities.
Khare said the government is encouraging private-sector and cluster-based testing infrastructure while pursuing deregulation and simplification measures to improve ease of doing business.
She also urged industry stakeholders to actively participate in standards formulation and review processes, adding that outdated standards and testing methods are being replaced with more accurate and scalable systems.
On the use of technology in governance and standardisation, Khare said, "We have to also have some machine-readable standards and smart standards so that people don't have to read through the seven pages of the standards, that the machine can itself read them."
She added that the government remains open to industry feedback to improve standards, testing systems and regulatory processes while ensuring consumer trust and market integrity remain central to India's manufacturing growth.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Sounds great on paper but ground reality is different. Our manufacturing still faces power shortages, red tape, and high logistics costs. How can we build future-ready ecosystems when basic infrastructure is still a challenge in many states? Also, we need more clarity on how small workshops in places like Ludhiana or Coimbatore will afford these fancy AI systems.
The gold hallmarking example is a good one - that showed how involving private sector can scale quality initiatives. Hope similar model is applied to other sectors. Also, machine-readable standards are a brilliant idea! As someone who works in compliance, I can tell you reading through those 50-page BIS documents is a nightmare. Smart move, Madam Secretary! 👏
As an expat working in Indian manufacturing, I can see the potential. The talent pool is massive and the government seems committed. But the key will be how India navigates the talent gap - we need thousands of engineers trained in AI, robotics, and data analytics. The PLI schemes are great, but skilling programs need to match the pace of technological change. India can definitely become a manufacturing powerhouse if execution matches ambition.
Happy to see focus on 'quality as a destination' mindset. During my MBA, we studied how Japanese companies built their reputation on quality. India has the engineering talent but we need to change the 'chalta hai' attitude. The fact that we're playing bigger role in international standard-setting bodies is huge - that means we're no longer just following rules, we're making them. Viksit Bharat 2047 needs this foundation.
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