India’s growth in manufacturing, healthcare and services sectors over the past decade has made it a powerhouse. The country’s next goal is to become a symbol of sustainable development. How does India plan to meet this target? At the NDTV World Summit 2024 session titled “Disrupting Indian Industry for Good”, the country’s top industry leaders – Bharat Forge Chairman Baba Kalyani; Sunita Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group; And Ajay Shriram, Chairman and Managing Director, DCM Shriram Limited, explains what needs to be done and how.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address at the NDTV World Summit.
Manufacturing: “Made in India” for India and the World.
Baba Kalyani underlined the importance of the manufacturing sector in achieving the Developed India objectives outlined by the Government. According to Mr. Kalyani, “Without manufacturing, India cannot achieve its goals.” Bharat Forge, which has been exporting critical components to leading global automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for over two decades, is a testament to India’s industrial potential.
Mr Kalyani said the future of manufacturing lies in the adoption of new technologies, especially artificial intelligence (AI), to increase productivity, efficiency and quality. “AI will make an ordinary employee extraordinary, because access to knowledge will be instantaneous,” he said, highlighting how AI can aid in technical problem-solving, optimizing management processes and ushering in new industries.
Healthcare Innovation: Engineering Affordable Medical Solutions
Sunita Reddy shared Apollo Hospitals’ vision to bring together healthcare and technology to revolutionize medical device manufacturing. Ms Reddy said India has the potential to engineer medical devices at one-tenth the cost, making healthcare more affordable for millions of people.
“Our next journey is to combine technology and healthcare to touch 500 million people by using AI, chatbots and drones to deliver medical supplies across India,” Ms Reddy said. He also talked about the importance of research and said that India currently spends only 0.7 per cent of its GDP on research, and more investment is crucial, as the country faces rising cases of heart disease, stroke and cancer. Used to be. They concluded, “AI technology could help save trillions of dollars in health care costs.”
Innovation in Agriculture: Disruption through Technology
Ajay Sriram explains how innovation is changing India’s agriculture sector. He appreciated the efforts of the government in implementing the JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile) trinity, connecting farmers to essential services and innovations in real time.
Shri Shriram also discussed the role of technology transfer in modernization of agriculture and the rise of e-commerce, making agricultural products more accessible. “All aspects of the medical and agricultural industries are being disrupted,” Mr Sriram said.
Defense Technology: Courage and Complexity
Baba Kalyani discussed India’s progress in the defense sector, an area that demands both passion and perseverance. “Ten years ago, we would never have dreamed of exporting artillery guns and today, we have the largest capacity to do so,” he said. Shri Kalyani spoke about the importance of intellectual capacity and the need to create better products.
Green Fuels and Sustainability
On sustainability, Ajay Sriram discussed the government’s push on ethanol blending to reduce India’s fuel import bill. He pointed out that the blending target has been increased to 20 percent, and highlighted how the green fuel initiative aligns with India’s broader sustainability goals.
The panelists were unanimous in their optimism about India’s industrial future. With continuous innovation, focus on technology and strong government support, India is poised to become a global leader in manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture and defense technology. As Baba Kalyani confidently said, “India will make it happen.”
