New Delhi [India], Oct.20 : The public and private enterprises in India's manufacturing sector must provide quality products at an affordable cost thereby obtaining economies of scale to face challenges posed by China together with latest technologies of automation and robotics, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Mr Anant Geete said at an ASSOCHAM event held in New Delhi today.
"The era of globalisation has led to cut-throat competition across the world thereby making it a challenge for our manufacturing sector to survive, we need to face up to these global challenges else we might get isolated," said Mr Geete while inaugurating an ASSOCHAM International Conference on 'Industry 4.0: Smart Manufacturing.' He said that though the government felt that pushing the industrial sector will lead to create more job opportunities but the upcoming robotics technology might lead to significant job losses.
He also said that India's manufacturing sector has been reeling under distress during the course of past few years due to various reasons.
Highlighting how the government came to the rescue of domestic steel industry by fixing the minimum import price for steel as China was supplying finished products at the cost at which domestic industry gets raw material, he said, "This is how China has been destabilising the domestic steel sector and more or less a similar situation is there in the entire manufacturing sector." "We need to compete with China which has spread across the world, we need to accept this challenge," added Mr Geete.
The Minister said that the Prime Minister under the aegis of the government's ambitious 'Make in India,' program has invited global investors and industrialists to come and set up their manufacturing units here in India.
"But our first priority should be to save our domestic industry including both private and public sector enterprises as they will play the most significant role in development of programs like Make in India," said Mr Geete.
He also assured the industry representatives that the government stands together with them as it will also automatically push various government programs of Make in India, Digital India, Start-up India and others.
Source: ANI